Low-temperature PL spectra indicate that indium indeed acts as shallow donor and the density of surface traps is very low. We demonstrated the enhanced photocatalytic performance of In-doped ZnO NWs by degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) solution. Methods The In-doped ZnO nanowires were synthesized by a vapor transport deposition process in a single-zone high-temperature selleck chemical tube furnace. A mixture of ZnO (99.999%), graphite (99.9%), and In2O3 (99.99%) powder (weigh ratio 8:2:1) was used as the source material. A layer of 5-nm gold film deposited on the Si (100) substrate before the growth of ZnO NWs was used as catalyst. Then

the treated silicon substrate and the source material were placed in a quartz boat and inserted into the tube furnace. Si (100) substrate was placed about 10 cm downstream of the source. Before growth, the quartz tube was evacuated to about 100 mTorr by a rotary pump. Then the tube

furnace was heated to 950°C at a rate of 20°C min−1, under a Ar flow rate of 100 standard-state cubic centimeter per minute (SCCM). When the temperature reached 950°C, high purity O2 was continuously Saracatinib manufacturer fed into the tube at a flow rate of 2 SCCM, and the pressure was maintained at 4 Torr. After reacting for 30 min at 950°C, the furnace was naturally cooled to room temperature without O2 flux, and the white product deposited on the silicon substrate was collected. Undoped ZnO NWs were also grown under the same experimental conditions. The structure and composition of the samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction Selleck Venetoclax (XRD) through a Rigaku D/max 2550 pc diffractometer (The Woodlands, Texas, USA) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) on a time-of flight mass spectrometer (Ion TOF-SIMS). The morphology and microstructure of the nanowires were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM, Hitachi S-4800, Tokyo, Japan) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM, Philips-FEI Tecnai G2 F30 S-Twin, Hillsboro, OR, USA) combined with selective area electron diffraction (SAED). The In doping content of the individual NW was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy

(EDX) equipped in the TEM instrument. PL spectra were measured on a fluorescence spectrometer (FLS920 Edinburgh Instruments, Livingston, West Lothian, UK), using a He-Cd 325-nm laser as the excitation source. The photocatalytic activity of the nanowires was evaluated by investigating the photocatalytic degradation of RhB in aqueous solution in a cylindrical quartz photoreactor. Thirty milligrams of each sample was dispersed in 100 ml of deionized water, followed by ultrasonication for 1 h. One milliliter of 1 mM RhB aqueous solution was then added. A Xe lamp was used as the illumination source. Before illumination, the solution was stirred continuously in the dark for 30 min to reach an adsorption-desorption equilibrium of dye molecules on the surface of photocatalysts.