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<p>In this work, ZnO, polyethylene glycol (PEG) functionalized ZnO (ZnO:PEG) and PEG functionalized ZnO/SiO<sub>2</sub>&#xa0;(ZnO:PEG/SiO<sub>2</sub>) thin films are deposited on the glass substrates,&#xa0;using powder spin-coating&#xa0;method. The hexagonal wurtzite phase of ZnO, ZnO:PEG, ZnO:PEG/SiO<sub>2</sub> (1:1) and ZnO:PEG/SiO<sub>2</sub> (2:1) thin films have analyzed by using X-ray diffraction technique. The crystalinity decreases with the incorporation of SiO<sub>2</sub> in ZnO:PEG in ZnO:PEG/SiO<sub>2</sub> (1:1) sample, which shows the effect of SiO<sub>2</sub> on the ZnO nucleation and grain growth leads to the formation of additional defects. Using X-ray peak profile analysis, we have examined the crystallite size in synthesized thin films. A size-strain plot and Williamson-Hall analysis were employed to examine the distinct effects of crystallite sizes and lattice strain on the peak broadening of the deposited thin films. The findings show a strong correlation between the crystallite size estimated from Scherrer formula, Williamson-Hall and size-strain plots. The cauliflower like surface morphology of ZnO:PEG/SiO2 (2:1) thin film has been analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), shows the smaller grains of ZnO by the incorporation of SiO<sub>2</sub>. The EDS spectra confirms the presence of carbon, Si, O in the ZnO based thin film samples. The band gap of ZnO:PEG/SiO<sub>2</sub> (1:1) and ZnO:PEG/SiO<sub>2</sub> (2:1) samples show red shift with respect to ZnO:PEG. The synthesized thin films have been employed in the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutant indigo carmine (IC) dye. The highest photocatalytic IC dye degradation result was achieved to 83.9% using ZnO:PEG/SiO<sub>2</sub> (2:1) thin film with kinetic rate (k) 0.0233&#xa0;min<sup>−1</sup> in 80&#xa0;min under visible light irradiation. Additionally, the scavenger test, role of pH, type of light source and gas chromatographic studies have also been performed to know the role of active species, acidic or basic environment, effective light energy and pathways of IC dye degradation, respectively, using ZnO:PEG/SiO<sub>2</sub> (2:1) thin film. Results showed that minimal addition of SiO<sub>2</sub> and maximum presence of ZnO:PEG improves the electron–hole pairs separation efficiency and considerably enhances the photocatalytic activity of ZnO:PEG/SiO<sub>2</sub> (2:1) thin film under visible light exposure. Therefore, ZnO:PEG/SiO<sub>2</sub> (2:1) thin film is a promising material for effective and sustainable environmental applications.</p>

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PEG functionalized ZnO/SiO2 Heterostructured Thin Films with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity in Indigo Carmine dye Degradation

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月16日

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  • Sharda Pandey,
  • Satendra Kumar Chauhan,
  • Anchal Srivastava,
  • R. K. Shukla

摘要

In this work, ZnO, polyethylene glycol (PEG) functionalized ZnO (ZnO:PEG) and PEG functionalized ZnO/SiO2 (ZnO:PEG/SiO2) thin films are deposited on the glass substrates, using powder spin-coating method. The hexagonal wurtzite phase of ZnO, ZnO:PEG, ZnO:PEG/SiO2 (1:1) and ZnO:PEG/SiO2 (2:1) thin films have analyzed by using X-ray diffraction technique. The crystalinity decreases with the incorporation of SiO2 in ZnO:PEG in ZnO:PEG/SiO2 (1:1) sample, which shows the effect of SiO2 on the ZnO nucleation and grain growth leads to the formation of additional defects. Using X-ray peak profile analysis, we have examined the crystallite size in synthesized thin films. A size-strain plot and Williamson-Hall analysis were employed to examine the distinct effects of crystallite sizes and lattice strain on the peak broadening of the deposited thin films. The findings show a strong correlation between the crystallite size estimated from Scherrer formula, Williamson-Hall and size-strain plots. The cauliflower like surface morphology of ZnO:PEG/SiO2 (2:1) thin film has been analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), shows the smaller grains of ZnO by the incorporation of SiO2. The EDS spectra confirms the presence of carbon, Si, O in the ZnO based thin film samples. The band gap of ZnO:PEG/SiO2 (1:1) and ZnO:PEG/SiO2 (2:1) samples show red shift with respect to ZnO:PEG. The synthesized thin films have been employed in the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutant indigo carmine (IC) dye. The highest photocatalytic IC dye degradation result was achieved to 83.9% using ZnO:PEG/SiO2 (2:1) thin film with kinetic rate (k) 0.0233 min−1 in 80 min under visible light irradiation. Additionally, the scavenger test, role of pH, type of light source and gas chromatographic studies have also been performed to know the role of active species, acidic or basic environment, effective light energy and pathways of IC dye degradation, respectively, using ZnO:PEG/SiO2 (2:1) thin film. Results showed that minimal addition of SiO2 and maximum presence of ZnO:PEG improves the electron–hole pairs separation efficiency and considerably enhances the photocatalytic activity of ZnO:PEG/SiO2 (2:1) thin film under visible light exposure. Therefore, ZnO:PEG/SiO2 (2:1) thin film is a promising material for effective and sustainable environmental applications.