Issue 3, 2022

ZnO hollow pitchfork: coupled photo-piezocatalytic mechanism for antibiotic and pesticide elimination

Abstract

Photo-piezocatalytic degradation of organic dye (rhodamine B), pesticide (malathion), and antibiotic (ibuprofen) in an aqueous solution was performed by using a zinc oxide (ZnO) hollow pitchfork, which was synthesized by a hydrothermal technique. It can efficiently employ visible light and vibrational energy for the photo-piezocatalytic breakdown of contaminants. A ZnO hollow pitchfork showed a rhodamine B dye decomposition ratio of 85% within 80 minutes under a photo-piezotronic effect, which is significantly greater than the decomposition ratios of 35% and 55% for photocatalysis and piezocatalysis, respectively. The piezo potential generated in the ZnO pitchfork under strain was measured to be 84.72 V. This strain-driven polarized electric field promotes the separation of a photogenerated electron (e)–hole (h+) pair, which results in improved photocatalytic activity. This current study demonstrates an application in improving the catalytic performance of pollutant decomposition by capturing light and vibrational energy from natural surroundings.

Graphical abstract: ZnO hollow pitchfork: coupled photo-piezocatalytic mechanism for antibiotic and pesticide elimination

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
31 Oct 2021
Accepted
21 Dec 2021
First published
21 Dec 2021

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2022,12, 812-822

ZnO hollow pitchfork: coupled photo-piezocatalytic mechanism for antibiotic and pesticide elimination

A. Sharma, U. Bhardwaj and H. S. Kushwaha, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2022, 12, 812 DOI: 10.1039/D1CY01973B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements