Synthesis, Characterization, and Photocatalytic Property of Ba-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Synthesized Using Facile Precipitation

Abstract

This work represents a facile synthesis of ZnO and Ba-doped ZnO (BaZnO) for using as photocatalysts. ZnO and BaZnO are sub-micron particles and nanoparticles, respectively, with similar hexagonal wurtzite polycrystalline structures. Even the size of the lower particles and crystals of BaZnO, compared with ZnO, correspond to the improved specific surface area and dislocation density. The existence of surface chemical defects was detected for both ZnO and BaZnO. For use as photocatalysts, both ZnO and BaZnO were dispersed into a carbaryl solution activated with ultra-violet irradiation. The BaZnO had a higher degradation rate constant of 17.34 × 10−2 min−1 than ZnO (12.40 × 10−2 min−1), an improvement of 39.8%. The improvement is facilitated by the synergistic effects of high specific surface areas and defects caused by small particle sizes and high dislocation density, respectively. Therefore, it can be demonstrated that Ba is an effective dopant for modifying suitable BaZnO nanoparticles to enhance photocatalytic degradation of the toxic carbaryl insecticide.