Enhanced Photo Catalytic Activity of ZnO Nano Particles Co-doped with Rare Earth Elements (Nd and Sm) Under UV Light Illumination.

In the present report, synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nano particles (NPs) in pure form, 1 wt% of neodymium (Nd)-doped and 1 wt% of neodymium (Nd) and samarium (Sm) co-doped ZnO NPs in doped form by using simple co-precipitation method (samples namely PZ as pure, NZ as Nd-doped ZnO and NSZ as Nd–Sm co-doped ZnO NPs). Powder X-ray diffraction patterns of all the synthesized samples expose the hexagonal crystal structure of ZnO NPs without any impurity. The various functional groups presented in the synthesized samples were analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy studies. From Ultraviolet (UV)–Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), the band gap was found to be 2.81 eV, 2.90 eV and 3.10 eV respectively for pure, Nd-doped and Nd–Sm co-doped ZnO NPs. Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum displays the broad emission at 393 nm and 450 nm for all the synthesized samples. The agglomeration of flower-like morphology of pure ZnO NPs, flake-like structure of Nd-doped and rod-like morphology of Nd–Sm co-doped ZnO NPs were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The surface chemical composition of samples was carried out with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples for dye degradation of acid orange 7 (AO-7) and acid red 13 (AR-13) was studied under UV light. The result revealed that, the Nd–Sm co-doped ZnO NPs found to have efficient degradation candidate materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]