Caralluma fimbriata extract induced green synthesis, structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of ZnO nanostructure modified with Gd

Abstract

We have reported Caralluma fimbriata extract induced simple single step green synthesis of pure and Gd loaded ZnO nanostructures towards the improvement of photocatalytic performance under both UV and Sunlight irradiation. Band gap of 2.97 eV and 95 Ω of charge transfer resistance displayed highest decolorization effectiveness of 90 and 98% underneath UV and Sunlight irradiation respectively for Gd loaded ZnO (1 mol%). The reason for the enhancement ascribed to electron trap generated by the special 7f electronic configuration of Gd3+ which could increase the separation of the photo induced electron hole pairs and promoted charge transfer within the nanostructures. The photoluminescence spectrum consists of peak at ∼363 nm, ∼452 nm and ∼545 nm, color co-ordinates (0.14665, 0.31283) and average correlated color temperature ∼28465 K. Therefore, Gd-loaded nanostructures can be exercised as prospective photocatalyst as well as phosphors in display applications.