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Fabrication and Characterization of Cobalt Pigmented Anodized Zinc for Photocatalytic Application |
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PP: 127-132 |
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doi:10.18576/ijtfst/090206
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Author(s) |
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Judith Chebwogen,
Onesmus Munyati,
Sylvester Hatwaambo,
Mghendi Mwamburi,
Christopher Maghanga,
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Abstract |
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| Abstract: ZnO is an n-type oxide semiconductor with a direct wide band gap greater than 3 eV. Like any other semiconductor, the optical and electrical characteristics can be influenced by doping or adjusting process conditions which broaden its applications. In this work, varying amounts of Cobalt (0.01g-0.04g) were electrodeposited on anodized Zinc thin films (ZnO) followed by heat treatment to about 2500C. Optical characterization was performed in the range 300-2500 nm to obtain reflectance data which aided in defining the absorption coefficient and band gap of the films. Photocatalytic activity of the films was explored in Methylene Blue solution degradation under UV light irradiation. Analyzed data revealed a band gap shift to the red, i.e. from 3.34 eV to 3.10 eV for pure ZnO and 0.04g-Cobalt pigmented ZnO thin films respectively. Moreover, absorption coefficient increased with pigmentation attributed to the band shrinkage effect which elucidates that ZnO:Co thin films serve as good candidates for application in photocatalysis. All the fabricated films were photocatalytic but ZnO thin films containing 0.02g of Cobalt was the most photocatalytic.
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