The formation of highly dispersed zinc oxide powder during combustion of zinc nitrate with glycine mixture and its application for photocatalytic phenol decomposition

The paper presents the results of a detailed study of the process and products of combustion during self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) of ZnO zinc oxide powder from mixtures of such common reagents as oxidizer zinc nitrate and reducing agent (fuel) glycine, as well as the application of synthesized highly dispersed submicron and nanosized ZnO powder for the phenol photocatalytic decomposition under the action of ultraviolet irradiation. An aqueous solution of a mixture of reagents (the SHS-S process or Solution Combustion Synthesis – SCS) and the gel from a mixture of initial dry reagents formed when they were moistened due to hygroscopicity (the SHS-G process or Gel Combustion Synthesis – GCS) were combusted. The authors studied the phase and chemical compositions, the structure of the combustion product, and the effect of calcination in an oxidizing air medium and grinding in drum ball and planetary-centrifugal mills, as well as in mortar, on them and their photocatalythic activity. The study showed that calcination considerably increases the photocatalytic activity of combustion products due to a significant decrease in carbon impurity in the unburned fuel remains, and grinding in mills reduces the photocatalytic activity due to iron contamination and coarsening of ZnO particle agglomerates. The difference between the photocatalytic activity of the SHS-G and SHS-S products in the phenol decomposition is evident only at the initial stage of ultraviolet irradiation, after which this difference disappears. The authors discuss the direction of further research to increase significantly the photocatalytic activity of zinc oxide synthesized during combustion to use it effectively for the phenol decomposition under the action of visible light.