title: Effect of γ-irradiation on the growth of ZnO nanorod films for photocatalytic disinfection of contaminated water.
abstract: The growth of ZnO nanorods on a flat substrate containing γ-irradiated seeds and their ability to photocatalytically eliminate bacteria in water were studied. The seed layer was obtained, by the spray pyrolysis technique, from zinc acetate solutions γ-irradiated within the range from 0 to 100 kGy. Subsequently, to grow the rods, the seeds were immersed in a basic solution of zinc nitrate maintained at 90 °C. The rate of crystal growth on the seed layer during the thermal bath treatment was kept constant. The resulting materials were characterized morphologically by scanning electron and atomic force microscopies; X-ray diffraction was used to study their morphology and structure and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy to determine their absorbance. The obtained seed films were morphologically dependent on the radiation dose and this was correlated with the ZnO nanorod films which presented a texture in the (002) direction perpendicular to the substrate. The rods have a hexagonal mean cross section between 20 and 140 nm. Using these rods, the photocatalytic degradation of Escherichia coli bacteria in water was studied; a positive influence of the crystalline texture on the degradation rate was observed.
authors: Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, P.O. Box 31-139, Av. Túpac Amaru 210, Lima, Peru.
authors: Julio
authors: J
authors: Alarcón
authors: Silvia
authors: S
authors: Ponce
authors: Francisco
authors: F
authors: Paraguay-Delgado
authors: Juan
authors: J
authors: Rodríguez
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D005720:Gamma Rays; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry*; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D015034:Zinc Oxide