Templates effects on the morphological, optical, and photocatalytic properties of ZnO nanostructures synthesized via precipitation method

A simple and effective method was used to synthesize zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles in the presence of chitosan (Cs) and Pluronic 123 (P) as templates. A comparative study was then conducted to evaluate the optical, morphological, and photocatalytic properties of the resulting materials. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using various techniques, including XRD, FTIR, DRS, EDX, SEM, and N2 adsorption-desorption. Additionally, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were employed to explore the electronic properties of the nanoparticles. The results demonstrated that the templates significantly influenced in the morphology of materials. Additionally, ZnO-Cs showed a lower band gap and the highest specific surface area (20.57 m2/g). The samples showed good stability and significant photocatalytic activity under UV-B radiation at the natural solution pH (without adjustment). The degradation of methylene blue (MB) was confirmed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Furthermore, the mechanism of photocatalytic degradation of the organic dye was investigated using conceptual DFT analysis and validated through comparison with previously reported experimental data.