STRUCTURAL AND OPTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PURE AND STARCH-CAPPED ZNO QUANTUM DOTS AND THEIR PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY

Abstract

Among the different types of metal oxides, zinc oxide (ZnO) is a most commonly used metal oxide in a broad variety of applications. In the present investigation, a modified green synthesis route was used to synthesize pure and starch-capped ZnO (ZnO/starch) quantum dots (QDs) and studied their structural and optical characteristics. In this study, hexagonal crystal structure was observed in both pure and ZnO/starch QDs using X-ray diffraction technique. A spherical-shaped surface morphology was found with the size of 5–10 nm using transmission electron microscope technique. The interaction between ZnO QDs and starch molecules was proved via Fourier infra-red spectrometer technique. On the other hand, their fluorescence behaviors were investigated using photoluminescence technique, in that the ZnO/starch QDs showed an