Rare earth (RE- Pr, Er and Nd) doped ZnO nanostructures were prepared through simple wet chemical precipitation route. The RE doping induced interesting morphological transition from spherical to flower like structures were analyzed. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements revealed that the prepared materials were of highly crystalline in nature and RE dopant ions did not altered the crystal structure of ZnO. The microstrain of ZnO was altered with respect to the nature of dopants. In the case of the Pr doped ZnO, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed that the dopant (Pr) ions successfully substituted in the ZnO lattice. Raman spectra revealed RE doping induced lower energy side shift and variation in intensity of the peaks related to the characteristic phonon modes of ZnO. In the case of Nd doped ZnO nanostructures, dopant induced suppression in classical Raman modes and evolution of multiphonon related modes were identified. Optical diffuse reflectance spectral (DRS) measurements, along with the characteristic excitonic band of ZnO, other bands associated to the transitions of 4f energy levels related to the RE ions were observed. The partially filled 4f orbitals led to the enhanced photocatalytic activity in RE doped ZnO nanostructures. The observed enhanced photocatalytic activity in RE doped ZnO when compared to bare ZnO was discussed. The decolorization efficiency of MB ensued the following order 96 > 94 > 86 > 78% for ZnErO, ZnNdO, ZnPrO and ZnO, respectively.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2021.120679 | DOI Listing |
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, India.
The tunability of the energy bandgap in the near-infrared (NIR) range uniquely positions colloidal lead sulfide (PbS) quantum dots (QDs) as a versatile material to enhance the performance of existing perovskite and silicon solar cells in tandem architectures. The desired narrow bandgap (NBG) PbS QDs exhibit polar (111) and nonpolar (100) terminal facets, making effective surface passivation through ligand engineering highly challenging. Despite recent breakthroughs in surface ligand engineering, NBG PbS QDs suffer from uncontrolled agglomeration in solid films, leading to increased energy disorder and trap formation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngew Chem Int Ed Engl
January 2025
South China University of Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Wushan St., 510640, Guangzhou, CHINA.
An inevitable overoxidation process is considered as one of the most challenging problems in the direct conversion of methane (CH4) to methanol (CH3OH), which is limited by the uncontrollable cracking of key intermediates. Herein, we have successfully constructed a photocatalyst, the Fe-doped ZnO hollow polyhedron (Fe/ZnOHP), for the highly selective photoconversion of CH4 to CH3OH under mild conditions. In-situ experiments and density functional theory calculations confirmed that the introduction of Fe was able to decrease the energy level of the O 2p orbital, which passivated the activity of lattice oxygen in ZnO nanocrystals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Basic Microbiol
January 2025
Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
One of the main difficulties in nanotechnology is the development of an environmentally friendly, successful method of producing nanoparticles from biological sources. Silver-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (Ag-ZnO NPs), with antibacterial and antioxidant properties, were produced using Adiantum venustum extract as a green technique. Fresh A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Environ Manage
January 2025
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China. Electronic address:
Ofloxacin (OFX), commonly employed in the treatment of infectious diseases, is frequently detected in aquatic environments and poses potential ecological risks. UV/HO oxidation has been recognized as an efficient approach for removing antibiotics. In this study, Cu-doped waste-tire carbon was prepared and used as a UV/HO catalyst for the degradation of OFX.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeliyon
January 2025
School of Life Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, 620 024, Tamil Nadu, India.
The plasmonic metal doping on the UV-active metal oxide nanoparticle turns the resultant plasmonic metal-metal oxide (PMMO) into visible light active and upon exogenous illumination the photogenerated energetic charge carriers and the generated reactive oxygen species (ROS, e.g. ·OH and O ) authoritatively enhances its biological and catalytic activity.
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