Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange by ZnO:Eu nanoparticles

By L. Trandafilović, D. Jovanović, Xueqiang Zhang, S. Ptasińska, Miroslav D. Dramicanin. 2017

409 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract ZnO nanoparticles doped with different Eu3+ percentages were synthesized in water (ZnO:Eu(x%)-W) and other solvents (methanol ZnO:Eu(x%)-M and ethanol ZnO:Eu(x%)-E). X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy were used for characterization of the nanoparticles. Our results showed influence of europium doping and solvents on size, particles agglomeration, light absorption and photocatalytic activity. Improvement in photocatalytical activity with addition of Eu3+ doping was detected. Particle size increased with Eu3+ doping in water samples, while it decreased in methanol. Agglomeration was more prominent in ZnO:Eu(x%)-W samples. Greater amount of surface OH groups in case of ZnO:Eu(x%)-M samples was detected by PL, XPS and FTIR measurements. Influence of europium doping, as an electron trap, and surface OH groups, as a hole trap, was studied in sunlight photocatalytic degradation of cationic methylene blue (MB) and anionic methyl orange (MO). Improved photocatalytic behavior was discussed and influence of active species was further investigated using hole and hydroxyle radical scavengers. The degradation pathway of MB and MO, using high performance liquid chromatohraphy (HPLC), is also examined.

Subfields: Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Materials Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2fc512e0adeb83e0b20daed6a4a914f11ac25d71

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In Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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In Materials Chemistry

In Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Citations in the corpus

Mechanistic Insights into Photodegradation of Organic Dyes Using Heterostructure Photocatalysts (2019, background): “This photodegradation of dye molecules via the photosensitization process was reported in the cationic new fuchsin/graphene quantum dots [114], RhB/Zn-doped BiOBr [115], MB and MO/Eu3+-doped ZnO [116], and RhB/Nb2O5 [117] systems.”