Fabrication and characterization of zinc oxide-decorated titania nanoporous by electrochemical anodizing-chemical bath deposition techniques: visible light active photocatalysts with good stability

ZnO-decorated titania nanoporous (ZnO/TNPs) nanocomposites were fabricated by electrochemical anodizing-chemical bath deposition and characterized by SEM, EDX and XRD. Results showed that titania nanoporous with an inner average pore diameter of 80–110 nm and a length of 40 μm are grown on titanium foils. ZnO is decorated on titania nanoporous by a chemical bath deposition technique. Diffuse reflectance spectra showed an increase in the visible absorption relative to bare titania nanoporous. The ZnO was successfully decorated on the titania nanoporous, which enhanced the photocatalytic activity of the ZnO/TNPs, as indicated by the efficient removal of methylene blue. The resultant ZnO decorated titania nanoporous showed better photocatalytic activity than the bare titania under visible light radiation. Such photocatalyst benefits from the capability of high specific surface and the direct conduction path through the aligned nanoporous. This inexpensive photocatalyst prepared free of noble metals, showed enhanced high photocatalytic activity with good stability.