Materials Research and Technology

Biography

Biography: Sadiye Pelin Erden

Abstract

Zinc stannate that has unique properties, including high electron mobility, high electrical conductivity, low visible absorption and excellent optical properties. Recently, its potential applications have been investigated for various applications such as gas sensors, electrode materials for dye sensing solar cell (DSSC) and catalyst for photo-degradation of dyes and pollutants. In order to obtain the maximum performance in such applications, Zn₂SnO₄ materials should represent a high chemical stability. However, the chemical stability of Zn₂SnO₄ materials in aqueous environment depending on pH and this has not been well understood in detail yet. Therefore, the research objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the material characteristics (particle surface area, particle size and form) and pH of the suspension on the chemical stability of Zn₂SnO₄ in aqueous environment and hence to determine the interaction between the particles and aqueous medium. In this study, zinc stannate particles with different surface area and particle size were synthesized by solid state reaction and hydrothermal methods. After the Zn₂SnO₄ powders were synthesized, Zn₂SnO₄ suspensions in aqueous environment were prepared at pH 3 and pH 9 by adding HCl acid and NaOH base solutions to the deionized water, respectively. Supernatants from the suspensions were collected for the following 30 days in 24 hours intervals. Zn⁺² and Sn⁺⁴ ion concentrations were determined by ICP-OES. The ICP-OES results showed that cations of Zn₂SnO₄ dissolve more in the acidic side than the basic one. In addition, dissolution rate of the hydrothermally synthesized Zn₂SnO₄ powder with higher surface area (18.053 m²/g) at pH 3 was much faster than that of the solid state synthesized Zn₂SnO₄ powder with relatively lower surface area (1.99 m²/g).