Production and Photoelectric Activity of P and Al Co-Doped ZnO Nanomaterials

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/ejic.201500246

Materials that have both conductivity and photocatalytic activity are widely applied in electrical devices and as environmental pollution handles. Based on such requirements, phosphorus and aluminium co-doped conductive zinc oxide nanocrystals (PAZO NCs) with novel visible-light catalytic activities have been mass produced by the combustion method. The PAZO NCs have diameters of 30-100 nm and BET specific surface areas of 15.27-18.99 m² g^-1. These PAZO NCs exhibited novel photocatalytic activity and good conductivity [the powder conductivity was (0.98-1.76) ×10^-4 S cm^-1], the reason being mainly attributed to the increase in carrier concentration and defects through P and Al co-doping. In addition, we found that the 3PAZO NCs, in which the molar ratio of Zn to P atoms is 100:3, had the best visible-light catalytic efficiency of the PAZO NCs, and the size of PAZO NCs decreased with increasing doping of phosphorus and aluminium. This study is useful as a reference for the mass production of modified ZnO NCs and its applications, such as in environmental management, photocatalysis, and anti-static electricity.