Abstract

The fabrication of ZnO–SiO₂ (ZS) composite found to be a great challenge owing to the disadvantage of the recent method such as high temperature and multistep process. To this end, a new and rapid method for fabricating zinc oxide (ZnO) and ZS composite particles by the simple electrospray method was developed. Results from this method provide a free agglomeration and smaller particle size of ZS composite (compared with pure ZnO) with an increase in the applied voltage, which correlates with the charge repulsion within the particles. The presence of silica inhibited the ZnO particles and crystal growth. The XRD and FTIR spectra indicated that silica covered the ZnO particles. Smaller ZS molar ratio with higher applied voltage had a significant role in minimizing the agglomeration of particle production. This suggested a morphological control of the composite through electrospray. The results of the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution revealed that the presence of silica effectively inhibited the photocatalytic activity of ZnO particles in which the degradation rates of ZnO without and with silica were 85% and 63%, respectively. The effect of silica on the ultraviolet (UV) shielding property of ZnO particles also examined.

Graphic abstract

中文翻译：

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ZnO-SiO 2复合颗粒的快速电喷雾合成及抑制光催化活性

摘要

ZnO–SiO ₂的制备（ZS）复合材料由于近期方法（例如高温和多步法）的缺点而面临巨大挑战。为此，开发了一种通过简单的电喷雾方法快速制备氧化锌（ZnO）和ZS复合颗粒的新方法。该方法的结果提供了自由附聚和较小的ZS复合材料颗粒（与纯ZnO相比），且施加电压增加，这与颗粒内的电荷排斥相关。二氧化硅的存在抑制了ZnO颗粒和晶体的生长。XRD和FTIR光谱表明二氧化硅覆盖了ZnO颗粒。较小的ZS摩尔比和较高的施加电压在最大程度地减少颗粒产生的聚集方面起着重要作用。这表明通过电喷雾对复合材料进行形态控制。水溶液中亚甲基蓝（MB）的光催化降解结果表明，二氧化硅的存在有效抑制了ZnO颗粒的光催化活性，其中无和有二氧化硅的ZnO降解率分别为85％和63％。还研究了二氧化硅对ZnO颗粒的紫外线（UV）屏蔽性能的影响。

图形摘要