Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México - CNyN

1st International Symposium on Nanoscience and Nanomaterials
P-015
CL STUDY OF HOLLOW ZnO:B MICRO-RODS GROWN BY THE HYDROTHERMAL METHOD
R. Camacho 1,a and M Herrera 2,b
1 Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Coyoacán, Distrito Federal 04510,
México
2 Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ensenada, Baja
California 22800, México
Keywords: ZnO:B, microrods, cathodoluminescence.
a mrc@ciencias.unam.mx, b zaldivar@cnyn.unam.mx
Hollow ZnO:B micro-rods were synthesized by a hydrothermal method at atmospheric pressure. A
chemical decomposition of zinc acetate in a controlled alkaline environment generated the growth of ZnO
rods with a flower-like morfology. Boron impurities were incorporated in ZnO by the addition of orthoboric
acid in the chemical synthesis, at several concentrations. SEM images revealed that Boron incorporation
generated the formation of hollow ZnO microrods, with wall thickness of about 200 nm. A helical growth
mechanism along the [0001] direction has been proposed to explain the formation of this morphology. CL
measurements at room temperature show a homogeneous emission along the ZnO:B rods, composed by two
bands centered at 2.12 and 2.5 eV. CL measurements at 100 K show only the formation of a strong yellow
emission (2.12 eV). Electrical conductivity along single micro-rods was also studied, using a
micromanipulator in the SEM. We discuss a possible dependence between the electrical conductivity and
boron concentration in ZnO micro-rods.
P-016
CuFe 2 O 4 NANOSTRUCTURED PARTICLES AS PHOTOCATALYST FOR H 2 GENERATION
FROM WATER AND SUNLIGHT
Ortega López Mercedes Yudith 1,a , Salinas Gutiérrez Jesús Manuel 1,b , López Ortiz Alejandro 1,c , Collins-
Martínez Virginia 1,d
1 Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados S. C., Laboratorio Nacional de Nanotecnología, Depto. de
Materiales Nanoestructurados, Miguel de Cervantes 120, C. P. 31109, Chihuahua, Chih. México.
a yudith.ortega@cimav.edu.mx, b jesus.salinas@cimav.edu.mx, c alejandro.lopez@cimav.edu.mx,
d virginia.collins@cimav.edu.mx
Keywords: Copper Ferrite (CuFe 2 O 4 ), Nanoparticles, Photocatalytic Activity, Water Splitting.
The present research is aimed to reduce one of the main limitations of photocatalytic processes,
which deals with higher efficient photocatalysts to be activated under the sunlight spectrum (energy band gap
between 1.5 to 3eV). The objective of this paper was to study an alternate semiconductor to TiO 2 , which
presents a lower band gap value than 3.0 eV. This study included; synthesis, characterization and
photocatalytic evaluation of copper ferrite (CuFe 2 O 4 ) prepared through co-precipitation and thermal treatment
for the generation of hydrogen under visible light. Characterization of the material was performed by XRD,
BET, SEM, TEM and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Results indicate that the material presented only the CuFe 2 O 4
crystal phase, with a BET surface area of 70 m 2 /g and particle sizes smaller than 10 nm. Photocatalytic
evaluation under visible light irradiation followed by gas chromatography resulted in the hydrogen production
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