Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Photocatalytic degradation mechanism of Ce-loaded ZnO catalysts toward methyl green dye pollutant

  • Published:
Applied Physics A Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We report the photocatalytic activity of cerium-doped zinc oxide (Ce:ZnO) nanocrystals, toward the rapid degradation of methyl green dye molecules under black light (λ = 376 nm) irradiation. The Ce:ZnO samples are prepared by simple one-pot preparation methods with different Ce concentrations. The crystal parameters of the Ce:ZnO are derived from X-ray diffraction analysis and the corresponding band gap changes are probed with diffuse reflectance spectra. Raman spectral analysis reveals the vibrational properties of Ce:ZnO samples. Following that, the morphology and compositional analysis of Ce:ZnO nanocrystals are performed with scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray techniques, respectively. Finally, the photocatalytic performances of Ce:ZnO are compared and the role of Ce toward the improved photocatalytic activity of ZnO are discussed. It has been found that 68 and 98% of degradation is achieved for pure ZnO and Ce:ZnO, respectively. On the other hand in the composites form, CeO2-ZnO exhibits 100% degradation in just 30 min.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. M. Grätzel, Mesoscopic solar cells for electricity and hydrogen production from sunlight. Chem. Lett. 34, 8–13 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. R. Fiorenza, A. Di Mauro, M. Cantarella, A. Gulino, L. Spitaleri, V. Privitera, G. Impellizzeri, Molecularly imprinted N-doped TiO2 photocatalysts for the selective degradation of o-phenylphenol fungicide from water. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 112, 105019 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. T.S. Nwe, L. Sikong, R. Kokoo, M. Khangkhamano, Photocatalytic activity enhancement of Dy-doped TiO2 nanoparticles hybrid with TiO2 (B) nanobelts under UV and fluorescence irradiation. Curr. Appl. Phys. 20(2), 249–254 (2020)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. M. Peydayesh, T. Mohammadi, S.K. Nikouzad, A positively charged composite loose nanofiltration membrane for water purification from heavy metals. J. Membr. Sci. 611, 118205 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. C.J.B. Alejo, J. Graus, R. Arenal, M. Lafuente, B.B. Pergher, J.L. Hueso, Anisotropic Au-ZnO photocatalyst for the visible-light expanded oxidation of n-hexane. Catal. Today. 362, 97–103 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. J.H. Lee, H.B. Lee, N.B. Jeong, D.H. Park, I. Choi, H.J. Chung, High-speed residue-free transfer of two-dimensional materials using PDMS stamp and water infiltration. Curr. Appl. Phys. 20(10), 1190–1194 (2020)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. M.K. Kavitha, L. Rolland, L. Johnson, H. John, M.K. Jayaraj, Visible light responsive superhydrophilic TiO2/reduced graphene oxide coating by vacuum-assisted filtration and transfer method for self-cleaning application. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 113, 105011 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. I. Ahmad, M.S. Akhtar, E. Ahmed, M. Ahmad, Facile synthesis of Pr-doped ZnO photocatalyst using sol–gel method and its visible light photocatalytic activity. J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 31, 1084–1093 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Z. Xu, Y. Kan, C. Liu, Aspect ratio control and photocatalytic properties analysis of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles. Mater. Res. Bull. 107, 80–86 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. S.K. Mandal, K. Dutta, S. Pal, S. Mandal, A. Naskar, P.K. Pale, T.S. Bhattacharya, A. Singha, R. Saikh, S. De, D. Jana, Engineering of ZnO/rGO nanocomposite photocatalyst towards rapid degradation of toxic dyes. Mater. Chem. Phys. 223, 456–465 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. S.J. Shen, T.S. Yang, M.S. Wong, Co-sputtered boron-doped titanium dioxide films as photocatalysts. Surf. Coat. Technol. 303, 184–190 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. R.D. Suryavanshi, S.V. Mohite, S.K. Shaikh, J.B. Thorat, K.Y. Rajpure, Spray deposited Fe2O3 photoelectrode for degradation of benzoic acid and methyl blue dye under solar radiation. J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electr. 29, 20875–20884 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. X. Xiao, R. Hu, C. Liu, C. Xing, C. Qian, X. Zuo, J. Nan, L. Wang, Facile large-scale synthesis of β-Bi2O3 nanospheres as a highly efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of acetaminophen under visible light irradiation. Appl. Catal. B. Environ. 140–141, 433–443 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. J. Sun, S. Yang, Z. Liang, X. Liu, P. Qiu, H. Cui, J. Tian, Two-dimensional/one-dimensional molybdenum sulfide (MoS2) nanoflake/graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) hollow nanotube photocatalyst for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production activity. J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 567, 300–307 (2020)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. R. Beura, R. Pachaiappan, T. Paramasivam, Photocatalytic degradation studies of organic dyes over novel Ag-loaded ZnO-graphene hybrid nanocomposites. J. Phys. Chem. Solid. 148, 109689 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. J. Luo, X. Bai, Q. Li, X. Yu, C. Li, Z. Wang, W. Wu, Y. Liang, Z. Zhao, H. Liu, Band structure engineering of bioinspired Fe doped SrMoO4 for enhanced photocatalytic nitrogen reduction performance. Nano Energy 66, 104187 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Y. Cui, F. Wang, M.Z. Iqbal, Z. Wang, Y. Li, J. Tu, Synthesis of novel 3D SnO flower-like hierarchical architectures self-assembled by nano-leaves and its photocatalysis. Mater. Res. Bull. 70, 784–788 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. C. Loka, K.S. Lee, Preparation and photocatalytic performance of silver nanocrystals loaded Cu2O-WO3 composite thin films for visible light-active photocatalysis. Mater. Res. Bull. 137, 111192 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. F.A. Alharthi, N. Al-Zaqri, A. El Marghany, A.A. Alghamdi, A.Q. Alorabi, N. Baghdadi, H.S. Al-Shehri, R. Wahab, N. Ahmad, Ahmad, synthesis of nanocauliflower ZnO photocatalyst by potato waste and its photocatalytic efficiency against dye. J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electr. 31, 11538–11547 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. K. Qi, B. Cheng, J. Yu, W. Ho, Review on the improvement of the photocatalytic and antibacterial activities of ZnO. J. Alloys. Compd. 727, 792–820 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. D. Chen, Z. Wang, T. Ren, H. Ding, W. Yao, R. Zong, Y. Zhu, Influence of defects on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO. J. Phys. Chem. C. 18, 15300–15307 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. D. Ariyanti, L. Mills, J. Dong, Y. Yao, W. Gao, NaBH4 modified TiO2: defect site enhancement related to its photocatalytic activity. Mater. Chem. Phys. 199, 571–576 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. A.K.M. Alsmadi, B. Salameh, M. Shatnawi, Influence of oxygen defects and their evolution on the ferromagnetic ordering and band gap of Mn-doped Zn films. J. Phys. Chem. C. 124(29), 16116–16126 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. P. Erhart, K. Albe, Diffusion of zinc vacancies ad interstitials in zinc oxide. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 201918 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. M. Shkir, M.S. Hamdy, S. AlFaify, A facile one pot flash combustion synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles and their characterizations for photocatalytic applications. J. Mol. Struct. 1197, 610–616 (2019)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. M. Shkir, K.V. Chandekar, B.M. Alshehri, A. Khan, S. AlFaify, M.S. Hamdy, A remarkable enhancement in photocatalytic activity of facilely synthesized Terbium@Zinc oxide nanoparticles by fash combustion route for optoelectronic applications. Appl. Nanosci. 10, 1811–1823 (2020)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. W.E. Mahmoud, Synthesis and optical properties of Ce-doped ZnO hexagonal nanoplatelets. J. Cryst. Growth 312, 3075–3079 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. G.N. Dar, A. Umar, S.A. Zaidi, A.A. Ibrahim, M. Abaker, S. Baskoutas, M.S. Al-Assiri, Ce-doped ZnO nanorods for the detection of hazardous chemical. Sens. Actuators B Chem. 173, 72–78 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. M.M. Sivalingam, K. Balasubramanian, Morphological tuned preparation of zinc oxide: reduced graphene oxide composites for non-enzymatic fluorescence glucose sensing and enhanced photocatalysis. Appl. Phys. A 122, 1–11 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. K.V. Chandekar, M. Shkir, B.M. Al-Shehri, S. AlFaify, R.G. Halor, A. Khan, K.S. Al-Namshah, M.S. Hamdy, Visible light sensitive Cu doped ZnO: facile synthesis, characterization and high photocatalytic response. Mater. Charact. 165, 110387 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. K.V. Chandekar, M. Shkir, A. Khan, B.M. Al-Shehri, M.S. Hamdy, S. AlFaify, M.A. El-Toni, A. Aldalbahi, A.A. Ansari, H. Ghaithan, J. Photochem. Photobiol. 395, 112465 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. S. Sakthivel, B. Neppolian, M.V. Shankar, B. Arabindoo, M. Palanichamy, V. Murugesan, Solar photocatalytic degradation of azo dye: comparison of photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO and TiO2. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 77, 65–82 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. B. Neppolian, H.C. Choi, S. Sakthivel, B. Arabindoo, V. Murugesan, Solar/UV-induced photocatalytic degradation of three commercial textile dyes. J. Hazard. Mater. 89, 303–317 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. M. Ahmad, E. Ahmed, F. Zafar, N.R. Khalid, N.A. Niaz, A. Hafeez, M. Ikram, M.A. Khan, Z. Hong, Enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ce-doped ZnO nanopowders synthesized by combustion method. J. Rare Earths 33, 255–262 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. N. Narayanan, N.K. Deepak, Realizing luminescent downshifting in ZnO thin films by Ce doping with enhancement of photocatalytic activity. Solid State Sci. 78, 144–155 (2018)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. Q. Zhang, X. Zhao, L. Duan, H. Shen, R. Liu, Controlling oxygen vacancies and enhanced visible light photocatalysis of CeO2/ZnO nanocomposites. J. Photochem. Photobiol. 392, 112156 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. J. Jiang, Z. Mu, H. Xing, Q. Wu, X. Yue, Y. Lin, Insights into the synergetic effect for enhanced UV/visible-light activated photodegradation activity via Cu-ZnO photocatalyst. Appl. Surf. Sci. 478, 1037–1045 (2019)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. M. Yarahmadi, H.M. Ghaleh, M.E. Mehr, Z. Dargahi, F. Rasouli, M.H. Siadati, Synthesis and characterization of Sr-doped ZnO nanoparticles for photocatalytic applications. J. Alloys Compd. 853, 157000 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Authors express their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University, Abha, for funding this work through research group program under grant number R.G.P2/87/41.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Catalysis Research Group (CRG), Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha, 61413, Saudi Arabia

    Khadijah S. Al-Namshah & Mohamed S. Hamdy

  2. Department of Physics, St. Peter’s Institute of Higher Education and Research (SPIHER), Avadi, Chennai, Tamilnadu, 600054, India

    Sivalingam Muthu Mariappan

  3. Advanced Functional Materials & Optoelectronics Laboratory, Department of Physics, College of Science, King Khalid University, Abha, 61413, Saudi Arabia

    Mohd. Shkir

Authors
  1. Khadijah S. Al-Namshah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sivalingam Muthu Mariappan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mohd. Shkir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mohamed S. Hamdy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohamed S. Hamdy.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Al-Namshah, K.S., Mariappan, S.M., Shkir, M. et al. Photocatalytic degradation mechanism of Ce-loaded ZnO catalysts toward methyl green dye pollutant. Appl. Phys. A 127, 452 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-021-04602-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-021-04602-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation