Abstract
Photocatalysis using semiconductor materials, such as ZnO and TiO2, allows the degradation of organic compounds through the redox process when it is irradiated by UV or solar light. In the present work the nanoparticles of ZnO and ZnO:Eu were synthesized using the forced-hydrolysis method. It was determined the effect of the heat treatment on ZnO nanoparticles at 400, 450 and 500 °C. The percentages of doped ZnO with Europium (Eu) was 0.97, 1.62 and 3% weight. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), visible ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV–vis) and the photocatalytic activity was evaluated to degradation of methylene blue (MB). The ZnO:Eu with 1.62% show MB degradation of 99.3% in 80 min.
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