Photoresponsive Activity of the ZnErCrO Compound with Hemisphere-like Structure Obtained by Co-Precipitation.

In this work, a ZnO hemisphere-like structure co-doped with Er and Cr was obtained by the co-precipitation method for photocatalytic applications. The dopant's effect on the ZnO lattice was investigated using X-ray diffraction, Raman, photoluminescence, UV-Vis and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy techniques. The photocatalytic response of the material was analyzed using methylene blue (MB) as the model pollutant under UV irradiation. The wurtzite structure of the ZnErCrO compound presented distortions in the lattice due to the difference between the ionic radii of the Cr, Er and Zn cations. Oxygen vacancy defects were predominant, and the energy competition of the dopants interfered in the band gap energy of the material. In the photocatalytic test, the MB degradation rate was 42.3%. However, using optimized HO concentration, the dye removal capacity reached 90.1%. Inhibitor tests showed that OH radicals were the main species involved in MB degradation that occurred without the formation of toxic intermediates, as demonstrated in the ecotoxicity assays in . In short, the co-doping with Er and Cr proved to be an efficient strategy to obtain new materials for environmental remediation.