Synthesis of ZnO and Nd doped ZnO polyscales for removal of rhodamine 6G dye under UV light irradiation

Abstract

Herein we report, a simple strategy for the synthesis of hexagonal wurtzite ZnO and Nd doped ZnO (Nd/ZnO) using sonochemically assisted chemical co-precipitation method. The samples were characterized by standard analytical techniques, such as Fourier transform infrared and UV–vis spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis, Photoluminescence (PL) and specific surface area analysis (BET). The XRD results showed that the synthesized ZnO and Nd/ZnO samples were crystalline and accumulated as interleaving polyscales with flower like structure. A redshift is observed in Nd/ZnO samples in comparison with ZnO with increased visible light absorption ability. The band gap energy of Nd doped samples is observed to decrease from 3.21 for pristine ZnO to 3.17 eV with an increase in Nd content. The photocatalytic studies over Rhodamine 6G revealed that the Nd/ZnO samples exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity compared to pristine ZnO. 5% Nd/ZnO showed highest (97.39%) photocatalytic performance for dye removal which is attributable to high surface area 23.949 m2 g−1 together with the efficient increase in the rate of separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and capability of hydroxyl radical’s generation as evidenced by UV–Vis absorbance spectra.