Improving photocatalytic properties of Zn0.95Ni0.04Co0.01O modified by PANI

In this research, preparation of Zn0.95Ni0.04Co0.01O/PANI (polyaniline) (0.5%, 1% and 1.5% PANI) nanocomposites was performed by synthesis of pure polyaniline and adsorption of resulted organic chainson the structure of Zn0.95Ni0.04Co0.01O nano particles. The as-prepared samples was characterized by X-raydiffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM)and BET techniques. According to the X-ray diffraction analysis, pure PANI has a semi crystalline structurewhile all of the composites showed the characteristic peaks of Zn0.95Ni0.04Co0.01O with hexagonal wurtzitestructure. The FTIR spectroscopy approved the interactions of PANI chains and Zn0.95Ni0.04Co0.01O nanoparticles. Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed amorphous structure of PANIand the spherical shape of nano composite. The BET analysis attributed the largest specific surface areaof Zn0.95Ni0.04Co0.01O/PANI (1% PANI) nano composite. The photocatalytic results showed that the dyecan be effectively decolorized by Zn0.95Ni0.04Co0.01O/PANI (1% PANI) nano composite. The enhancementof photocatalytic performance is due to the decrease of specific surface area and the higher separationefficiency of photo-induced electron-hole pairs.