Abstract:
A facile aqueous synthesis has been reported for the preparation of organosilane treated ZnO nano
architectures (Si@ZnO) via microwave strategy. An in-situ addition of 3-aminopropyl trimethoxy silane
(APTMS) resulted in the formation of polysiloxane network that effectively controlled the exaggerated
growth of ZnO finally produced high surface area, mesoporous Si@ZnO nano clusters. The formation of a
polysiloxane network was confirmed from the FTIR analysis. Reduction in the crystallite size was verified
from the powder X-ray diffraction and TEM analyses. Silane treated ZnO shows highly stable dispersion,
in aqueous medium. The quantum confinement effect of size controlled Si@ZnO was confirmed from the
blue shift in UV–vis absorption spectra. As a function of APTMS concentration both surface charge and
surface area was found to enhance from ( 12) to (+35.5) mV and 18 to 80 m2 g 1
, respectively. Such
positively charged Si@ZnO nano architectures showed property highly receptive to anionic dyes for the
adsorption as well as photodegradation. In this study, size controlled, surface engineered, dual-functional
photoactive adsorbent is successfully designed which is potentially useful for the recovery and recycling
of dye contaminated water.
