Tailoring the Preparation, Microstructure, FTIR, Optical Properties and Photocatalysis of (Fe/Co) Co-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles (Zn<sub>0.9</sub>Fe<sub>x</sub>Co<sub>0.1−x</sub>O)
In this work, Fe<sup>3+</sup>- and Co<sup>2+</sup>-doped ZnO NPs (zinc oxide nanoparticles), Zn<sub>0.9</sub>Fe<sub>x</sub>Co<sub>0.1−x</sub>O, with a hexagonal wurtzite phase (single-phase), were synthesized via a co-precipitation techniqu...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Ceramics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6131/8/1/2 |
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| Summary: | In this work, Fe<sup>3+</sup>- and Co<sup>2+</sup>-doped ZnO NPs (zinc oxide nanoparticles), Zn<sub>0.9</sub>Fe<sub>x</sub>Co<sub>0.1−x</sub>O, with a hexagonal wurtzite phase (single-phase), were synthesized via a co-precipitation technique where the phase purity and elemental composition were confirmed by XRD and EDX, respectively. Due to the substitution of Fe by Co, the cell parameters (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>a</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and <i>c</i>) were increased, alongside which a slight shift to higher diffracted angles appeared. FTIR was carried out to confirm the insertion of both the Fe<sup>3+</sup> and Co<sup>2+</sup> dopants into the ZnO hexagonal phase. Based on the experimental results, different numerical techniques were used to determine the optical gap and refractive index for the ZnO NP-doped samples, and when the concentration of Fe<sup>3+</sup> ions was increased, the band gap value of ZnO decreased from 3.36 eV to 3.29 eV, accompanied by a decrease in the Urbach energy, while the refractive index increased. The doped ZnO NPs were later found to be effective UV photocatalysts which demonstrated a maximum reduction (84%) of methylene blue (MB) in a neutral environment for X = 0.05. The correlation between the Fe<sup>3+</sup> concentration, structure, optical parameters, and photocatalytic efficacy is explained in detail. |
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| ISSN: | 2571-6131 |