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Photocatalysis of Cd-doped ZnO synthesized with precipitation method

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Abstract

ZnO particles doped with 0 mol%–5 mol% Cd dopant were successfully synthesized by a precipitation method. The as-synthesized products were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with an energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The precursors showed weight loss at 35–700 °C caused by phase transformation and evaporation processes. The as-synthesized products were specified as hexagonal wurtzite ZnO. The crystallite size of ZnO samples doped with 0 mol%–5 mol% Cd gradually increased with the increase in Cd content. The photocatalytic activities of 0 mol%–5 mol% Cd-doped ZnO samples were evaluated through photodecolorization of methylene blue (MB) under ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In this research, ZnO doped with 3 mol% Cd shows the best photocatalytic activity in degrading of MB molecules as much as 89% within 240 min.

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Acknowledgements

This word was financially supported by the Chiang Mai University Research Fund, the administration of Materials Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand

    Phattranit Dumrongrojthanath & Titipun Thongtem

  2. Department of Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, 90112, Thailand

    Anukorn Phuruangrat

  3. Materials Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand

    Somchai Thongtem & Titipun Thongtem

  4. Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand

    Somchai Thongtem

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  1. Phattranit Dumrongrojthanath
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Correspondence to Anukorn Phuruangrat or Titipun Thongtem.

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Dumrongrojthanath, P., Phuruangrat, A., Thongtem, S. et al. Photocatalysis of Cd-doped ZnO synthesized with precipitation method. Rare Met. 40, 537–546 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-019-01283-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-019-01283-6

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