Nitrogen-Implanted ZnO Nanorod Arrays for Visible Light Photocatalytic Degradation of a Pharmaceutical Drug Acetaminophen

Abstract

The present study focuses on the effects of nitrogen (N) ion implantation in vertically aligned ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) and the photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen. The X-ray diffraction of these NRAs exhibit a wurtzite structure with a predominant (002) diffraction peak that shifts slightly after N-ion implantation. The field emission scanning electron microscopic images of as-prepared NRAs show a length of ∼4 μm and diameter of ∼150 nm. UV–visible spectroscopy reveals that the band gap of pristine ZnO NRAs decreases from 3.2 to 2.18 eV after N-ion implantation. Under visible irradiation, the N-ion-implanted ZnO catalyst exhibits significant enhancement of the photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen from 60.0 to 98.46% for 120 min.