One step synthesis of vertically grown Mn-doped ZnO nanorods for photocatalytic application

Abstract

Pure and Mn-doped ZnO nanorods thin films on glass substrates were successfully synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal route. It was confirmed from XRD data that pure and Mn-doped ZnO samples show hexagonal (wurtzite) structures and the particle size was found to be in the range 27–31 nm. From XRD data it was clearly found that vertical growth along (002) plane after Mn-doping into ZnO lattice. Functional groups and chemical species were detected using FT-IR spectra. Diameter and length of ZnO nanorods were determined by TEM which is in the range 350 nm, 1–4 μm respectively. UV–Vis results exhibit red shift with increasing Mn concentration in ZnO lattice. The 5% Mn-doped ZnO sample exhibits higher fluorescence intensity in visible region with surface defects. The electrical resistance of pure and Mn-doped ZnO nanorods was demonstrated by I–V characteristics. It was explicitly outlined from Raman spectra E 2 high mode was shifted towards the higher wavenumber from 439 to 440 cm−1 owing to Mn doping in ZnO lattice. The average surface area, pore volume, and pore diameter were measured by using the BET isotherm. The photocatalytic activity of pure and Mn-doped ZnO was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV–Vis light irradiation which indicates that 5% Mn-doped ZnO nanorods have better photocatalytic activity than other samples.