title: Novel room temperature synthesis of ZnO nanosheets, characterization and potentials in light harvesting applications and electrochemical devices.
abstract: Zinc oxide nanosheets (ZnONSs) were successfully synthesized using Zn(NO3)2·4H2O as the starting reagent in ammonia atmosphere at room temperature by a novel gas-solution precipitation method. XRD and EDS patterns indicated that pure ZnONSs were produced only in 15min reaction time. Besides, investigating the optical properties of the as-prepared ZnO nanosheets using UV-Vis diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) exhibited their semiconducting property by revealing one optical band gap in 3.3eV. Moreover, rhodamine B and methylene blue degradation were used as a probe reaction to test the as-synthesized ZnONSs photoactivity. Furthermore, a possible reaction mechanism for ZnONSs formation was discussed. On the other hand, operation of ZnONSs in Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was investigated by current density-voltage (Jsc-Voc) curve. Finally, a pencil graphite electrode was decorated using ZnONSs and pure MWCNT to provide an electrochemical device for Pb(+2) ions sensing. This modified electrode showed agreeable responses to trace amounts of Pb(+2) in NaOAC/HOAC buffer solutions. The limit of detection was found to be 0.112nmolL(-1) for Pb(+2).
authors.affiliation: Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, P.O. Box 87317-51167, Kashan, Islamic Republic of Iran. Electronic address: Mansournia@kashanu.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Mohammadreza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mansournia
authors.affiliation: Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, P.O. Box 87317-51167, Kashan, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: Somayeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rafizadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, P.O. Box 87317-51167, Kashan, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: S Mostafa
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hosseinpour-Mashkani
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, P.O. Box 87317-51167, Kashan, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hassan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Motaghedifard
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004566:Electrodes; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis; D008027:Light; D057230:Limit of Detection; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008751:Methylene Blue / Q000737:chemistry; D010782:Photolysis / Q000528:radiation effects; D012235:Rhodamines / Q000737:chemistry; D012993:Solar Energy; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013696:Temperature; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D012235:Rhodamines; D007854:Lead; D006108:Graphite; C029773:rhodamine B; D015034:Zinc Oxide; D008751:Methylene Blue
keywords: Electrochemical sensor; Gas-solution precipitation; Photocatalysis; Solar cell; Zinc oxide nanosheets