Structural, Optical and Photocatalytic Properties of ZnO Nanoparticles Prepared by Precipitation Method

ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized from PEG600 diacid modified-Zn (CH3COO)2.2H2O solution by precipitation method and an aqueous NaOH solution was used as precipitating agent. The crystal structure, morphology and optical property of ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, SEM and UV-Vis spectrophotometer, respectively. The crystallinity increased while the Eg value decreased as a function of PEG600 diacid concentrations. The ZnO nanoparticles that had the highest crystallinity and lowest Eg value exhibited the highest efficiency of photocatalytic degradation of about 90% when irradiating with a UV light for 3 h.