Photocatalytic performance mesoporous Nd2O3 modified ZnO nanoparticles with enhanced degradation of tetracycline

Abstract

This contribution reports the synthesis of mesoporous X% Nd2O3 modified ZnO (X = 1, 2, 3 and 4) during sol-gel process in existence of Pluronic F-108 for the first time. XRD indicated the construction of hexagonal ZnO nanocrystals and the isotherms exhibited of type IV with a type H2 hysteresis loop, indicating the existence of mesostructures. The synthesized samples were evaluated by photodegradation of tetracycline (TC) in visible light exposure compared to pure mesoporous ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and commercial photocatalyst P-25. The photocatalytic efficiency mesoporous 3%Nd2O3/ZnO for degradation TC reached up to 100 % for 2 h compared to pure mesoporous ZnO and P-25 with 4 and 10 %, respectively. The mesoporous 3%Nd2O3/ZnO photocatalysts showed promoted photocatalytic performance, resulting in an improved photodegradation rate value up to 8.8 and 16.3 times that of compared to pure ZnO and P-25, which was explained by better photogenerated charge carriers separation as a result of heterojunction construction between Nd2O3 and ZnO interfaces. In addition, the 3%Nd2O3/ZnO photocatalysts showed sufficient stability for five repeated runs and created its potential utility for mitigation of organic pollutants in comparison to pure ZnO and commercial P-25.