Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange in the presence of aluminium-doped zinc oxide / Nur Aliyah Alwani Mohd Nazam

AI-doped ZnO (AZO) photocatalysts with different AI concentrations (1-10 mol %)
were prepared through sol-gel method and followed by drying process at 300°C
for one hour. The obtained samples were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction
(XRD), Field Emmision Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) combined with
Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) and UV-Vis Spectroscopy. The XRD patterns of
AZO samples were assigned to wurtzite structure of ZnO with the smallest
crystallite size range from 78 - 87 nm. The doping of Al in ZnO crystal structure
successfully suppressed the growth of ZnO nanoparticles confirmed by XRD
patterns. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated by
photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange at characteristic peak of 466 nm under
UV light. The results showed that the AZO photocatalyst doped with 1 mol % Al
exhibited 89 % of photocatalytic activity compared to pure ZnO which results in
69 %. The enhanced photocatalytic activity could be attributed to extended UV light
absorption, inhibition of the electronehole pair's recombination and enhanced
adsorptivity of methyl orange dye molecule on the surface of AZO nanopowder