A Comparative Study on the Photocatalytic Efficiency of ZnO Nanowires Doped by Different Transition Metals |
| N. Martin, M. Capochichi-Gnambodoe, M. Le Pivert, Y. Leprince-Wang
Université Paris-Est, ESYCOM, 5 Bd. Descartes, 77454 Marne-la-Vallée Cedex 2, France |
| Received: November 14, 2018; in final form January 11, 2019 |
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| We synthesized transition metal doped ZnO nanowires by an easy and efficient hydrothermal method using three different metals: iron, silver, and cobalt at different molar percentage (1%, 2%, and 3%). Scanning electron microscopy showed quite homogeneous ZnO nanowire arrays for all doped samples. The photocatalytic efficiency was tested by degrading a methyl orange solution. All doped samples showed better efficiency than undoped samples, the most efficient for each dopant being the ZnO:Fe 3%, the ZnO:Ag 2%, and the ZnO:Co 2%. The photocatalytic efficiency enhancement can be attributed to two effects: the reduction of the band-gap energy allowing more photons to be absorbed; and the increase in oxygen vacancies and the dopant ions on the nanowire surface reducing the electron-hole recombination rate. |
DOI:10.12693/APhysPolA.135.471 PACS numbers: 68.55.Ln, 81.07.Gf, 92.20.Ny |