Improvement of Photocatalytic Activity by Zn Doping in Cu 2 O
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Improvement of Photocatalytic Activity by Zn Doping in Cu2O C. P. Goyala, b, c, D. Goyald, V. Ganeshd, N. S. Ramgire, M. Navaneethana, Y. Hayakawac, C. Muthamizhchelvana, H. Ikedab, c, and S. Ponnusamya, * a
Functional Materials and Energy Devices Laboratory, Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, SRM IST, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, 603203 India b Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, 4328011 Japan c Research Institute of Electronics, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, 4328011 Japan d Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, SRM IST, Kattankulathur, 603203 India e Technical Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Mumbai, 400085 India * e-mail: [email protected] Received May 1, 2020; revised May 1, 2020; accepted May 2, 2020
Abstract—Degradation of organic pollutants got more attention for detoxification of water. In this paper, pure and Zn-doped Cu2O particles were successfully synthesized by water bath co-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study confirmed the cubic structure of Cu2O. Zn doping resulted in reduction in crystallite size without changing d-spacing and crystal structure. Zn doping converts perfect cube to distorted sphere with enhanced surface area that is effective for photocatalytic applications. Elemental study confirmed the uniform distribution of Cu, Zn, and O atoms in the sample. X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) analysis showed peak shift in the electronic states of O with higher oxygen vacancy defects. Band gap of Cu2O after Zn doping increased from 1.84 to 1.91 eV. The photocatalytic activity towards methylene blue (MB) dye photodegradation under visible light reached 96% in 120 min after Zn doping compared to 95% in 180 min for pure Cu2O. The improvement in photocatalytic degradation after Zn doping was achieved by the slow electron-hole recombination, band gap increases, oxygen vacancy defects, and higher surface area. Keywords: photocatalytic activity, Cu2O, Zn doping, methylene blue, oxygen vacancy defects DOI: 10.1134/S1063783420100091
1. INTRODUCTION Population growth and rapid urbanization/industrialization have led to an increase in environmental pollution and energy requirements. Discharge of waste water without any treatment leads to continued deterioration of rivers and the marine environment. The waste organic dyes from various industries such as chemicals, textiles, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, paper, and plastic factories degrade the water and soil quality, which reduce photosynthesis [1–4]. Methylene blue (MB), frequently used in the textile industries, has stable aromatic molecular structure with a large molecular size, which makes its degradation difficult by biological processes [5]. To overcome the above issues, several techniques have been attempted, such as: ultra-filtration, chemical precipitation, coagulation, and adsorption. These methods are costly and produce secondary pollutants during treatment process, which makes them inefficient [6–9]. The advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are one of
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