Pulsed plasma-chemical modification of SiO2 nanopowder by ZnxOy nanoparticles

This work presents the results of pulsed plasma-chemical modification of silicon dioxide nanopowder with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO@SiO2). The obtained ZnO@SiO2 powders were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray phase analysis. The size of the synthesized particles was in the range of 20–100[Formula: see text]nm. The photocatalytic characteristics of ZnO@SiO2 were studied. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, the methylene blue (MB) decomposes efficiently. Two samples characterized by the content of silicon tetrachloride in the initial mixture were synthesized. The band gap estimated from the absorption spectra calculated from the diffuse reflectance spectra for these samples was 2.4[Formula: see text]eV and 2.95[Formula: see text]eV for indirect transitions and 3.03[Formula: see text]eV and 3.24[Formula: see text]eV for direct allowed transitions.