Synthesis, characterization and properties of nanostructure zinc oxide/cobalt oxide composite film coated on glass by sol–gel spin-coating process for textile dye removal in aqueous solution

Abstract Nanostructure zinc oxide/cobalt oxide composite (NZCC) photocatalysts were grown on glass substrate by spin-coating technique using zinc acetate dihydrate and cobalt acetate tetrahydrate as starting precursors. The calcination of these precursors yielded composite NZCC. The structural, electrical, crystalline size and optical properties were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy shows a band gap of 1.68 eV for NZCC. SEM micrographs show the uniform distribution of spherical grains of about 52 nm grain size for the ZC thin films. NZCC films coated on glass were applied for the photodegradation of an azo textile dye KE-2B in water.