Solution combustion synthesis, characterization, photocatalytic activity and electrochemical studies of Zr1.49 gd 1.49 O5.21 (zirconium gadolinium oxide) nanoparticle

Abstract

In this work, we are reporting the synthesis of zirconium gadolinium oxide nanoparticle by using solution combustion route using gadolinium nitrate, zirconyl nitrate as an oxidiser and ethylenediamine tetraaceticacid (EDTA) as fuel. The primary aim is to establish a facile solution combustion reaction to produce zirconium gadolinium oxide nanoparticle using zirconyl nitrate and EDTA as precursors for the first time and study of its photo catalytic activity against anionic and cationic dyes in presence of UV light.The PXRD data reveals the construction of pure Zr1.49 Gd 1.49 O5.21 nanoparticle with cubic phase having crystallite size∼18.36 nm. SEM images exhibit highly porous nature of the product. BET surface area analysis of Zr1.49 Gd 1.49 O5.21 nanoparticle shows relatively large surface area of 12.89 m2 g−1. Transmission electron microscopy exhibits identical particle size distribution with average particle sizes varying in the range of 20-100 nm. The band gap of 344.4 nm is calculated using the diffuse reflectance spectrum of Zr1.49Gd 1.49 O5.21. The photoluminescence spectrum of Zr1.49 Gd 1.49 O5.21 nanoparticle shows emission peak at 467.2 nm. The photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) using Zr1.49 Gd 1.49 O5.21 as photocatalyst showed 80 % of decolourisation in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The electrochemical studies using cyclic voltametry revealed, significant increase in current density of Zr1.49 Gd 1.49 O5.21 electrode when compared with bare carbon electrode and the simultaneous increase in redox current for the Zr1.49 Gd 1.49 O5.21 electrodes with increasing scan rate from 10 mVs-1 to 90 mVs−1.