Optical, structural properties and photocatalytic potential of Nd-ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by hydrothermal method
Manmohan Lal, Praveen Sharma, Chhotu Ram
Abstract
The structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of hydrothermally produced ZnO and Nd-ZnO nanostructures were studied. Doped and un-doped nanomaterials properties examine by (XRD) X-ray diffraction, (FESEM) Field Emission Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and (DRS) UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. XRD results show that ZnO crystalline size increases from 21.13 nm to 29.59 nm with Nd doping. DRS study indicates that energy band gap of doped ZnO sample was 3.19 eV while in case of ZnO sample 3.26 eV. The hexagonal rod shape morphology of doped ZnO was established by FESEM analyses. The photocatalytic activities of the produced nanomaterials were determined by Congo red dye photodegradation under UV and Solar light. In UV and Solar light, the photocatalytic activity of Nd-doped incorporated ZnO for CR degradation was 98.5 % and 91 %, respectively.