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Facile synthesis, characterization, and decolorization activity of Mn 2+ and Al 3+ co‐doped hexagonal‐like ZnO nanostructures as photocatalysts
Author(s) -
Shahbazkhany Saeedeh,
Salehi Mehdi,
MousaviKamazani Mehdi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
applied organometallic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1099-0739
pISSN - 0268-2605
DOI - 10.1002/aoc.5346
Subject(s) - wurtzite crystal structure , diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform , photocatalysis , spectroscopy , calcination , scanning electron microscope , chemistry , nanoparticle , methyl orange , nanostructure , analytical chemistry (journal) , nuclear chemistry , materials science , crystallography , nanotechnology , hexagonal crystal system , catalysis , biochemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , composite material , chromatography
A good photocatalyst with high efficiency can be synthesized easily using eco‐friendly materials and processes. Our synthesized samples exhibit all of the aforementioned features. In this work, manganese co‐doped ZnO at different weight percentages (3, 6, 9, and 15 wt.%) with and without 1.5 wt.% aluminum was synthesized by hydrothermal method, and their photocatalytic activity in aqueous solutions of methyl orange (MO) was investigated under visible light. The structural and optical properties of the samples were characterized using X‐ray powder diffraction, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. In this work, Mn 2+ ions in the 9%Mn/ZnO sample and Mn 2+ , Al 3+ ions in the (9%Mn, 1.5%Al)/ZnO sample calcined at 800 °C were replaced instead with some Zn 2+ ions in hexagonal wurtzite structures of ZnO. These structures were found next to each other in the form of a hexagonal shape that created 3D‐hexagonal‐like ZnO nanostructures. Finally, nanoparticles (NPs) and nano hexagonal‐like ZnO nanostructures were, respectively, dispersed on the surface of 3D‐hexagonal‐like structure of 9%Mn/ZnO and (9%Mn, 1.5%Al)/ZnO. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy analysis showed that the (9%Mn, 1.5%Al)/ZnO sample had more light absorption than 9%Mn/ZnO. However, contrary to our expectations, the 9%Mn/ZnO sample had better decolorization efficiency (94%) after 60 min under visible light, which could be attributed to a significant increase in the level of recombination by the aluminum ions.