Physical and photocatalytic properties of sprayed Dy doped ZnO thin films under sunlight irradiation for degrading methylene blue
G. El Fidha, N. Bitri, F. Chaabouni, Selene Acosta, Frank Güell, Carla Bittencourt, Juan Casanova‐Cháfer, Eduard Llobet
Abstract
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirms the incorporation of Dy ions in the ZnO matrix. Besides, UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometry analysis and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy showed that bandgap energy values of ZnO decreased when dysprosium doping increased. Therefore, Dy doped ZnO thin films can be potentially used as a solar-light-driven photocatalyst. Among the different doping yields, the ZnO doped with 6% dysprosium provides the highest degradation rate for methylene blue (MB) under solar irradiation. Specifically, 9% of dye degradation was achieved under sunlight irradiation for 120 minutes.
Topics & Concepts
Materials scienceX-ray photoelectron spectroscopyThin filmScanning electron microscopeDysprosiumDopingPhotocatalysisAnalytical Chemistry (journal)CrystallitePhotoluminescenceZincBand gapIrradiationNuclear chemistryChemical engineeringNanotechnologyOptoelectronicsInorganic chemistryChemistryComposite materialMetallurgyCatalysisEngineeringChromatographyNuclear physicsBiochemistryPhysicsZnO doping and propertiesGa2O3 and related materialsAdvanced Photocatalysis Techniques