Enhanced photocatalytic activity against crystal violet dye of Co and In doped ZnO thin films grown on PEI flexible substrate under UV and sunlight irradiations

Abstract

This work is focused on the photocatalytic activities of undoped ZnO, Co (1%) doped ZnO (CZO) and In (1%) doped ZnO (IZO) thin films grown on flexible PEI (Polyetherimide) substrate by spray pyrolysis. The photodegradation of crystal violet dye was investigated under UV and sunlight irradiations. Doping and excitation energy effects on photocatalytic efficiencies are discussed. All ZnO thin films show high photocatalytic efficiency up to 80% under either UV or sunlight irradiations for 210 min. However, CZO has the higher photocatalytic performance under UV irradiation. While, the photodegradation efficiency of IZO was enhanced under sunlight irradiation due to the narrowing of its optical gap. These results are discussed based on structural, morphological and optical investigations. The photocatalytic stability of ZnO films was studied as well. So, after three photocatalysis cycles, all ZnO thin films still effective. The obtained results are promising for the use of doped ZnO/PEI as talented photocatalysts for applications in large surfaces with various geometries for photodegradation of hazardous pollutants.

A comparative study of 0D and 1D Ce-ZnO nanocatalysts in photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants

“…Firstly, we note a decrease in PL intensity, indicating that Ce doped ZnO has a low electron-hole recombination rate. 61,62 Thus, ZnO may exhibit better photocatalytic activity than Ce-ZnO under UV irradiation. Overall, data shows that introducing cerium into the structure of zinc oxide decreases ZnO's photocatalytic effectiveness under UV light, instead signicantly increasing the photocatalytic efficiency under visible light.…”

The photocatalytic degradation of a binary textile dyes mixture within a new configuration of loop reactor using ZnO thin film-phytotoxicity control

“…The reproducibility of the photocatalytic experiments is confirmed and observed very clearly through the 20 photodegradion cycles. Ben Ameur et al [83] have conducted many cycles of thin film of ZnO: Co (1%) doped ZnO (CZO), and In (1%) doped ZnO (IZO). Their measurements clearly showed that after three cycles, the photo-degradation remains almost constant with a deactivation not exceeding (11%).…”

Indium-doped ZnOas efficient photosensitive material for sunlight driven hydrogen generation and DSSC applications: integrated experimental and computational approach

“…Quite interestingly, they obtained better photocatalytic activities for their In doped ZnO nanostructures containing rich oxygen vacancy defects under visible light irradiation towards the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) corresponding to 96.84% and 90.05%, respectively. S. B. Ameur et al grew thin films of undoped ZnO, (1%) Co doped ZnO and (1%) In doped ZnO on flexible PEI (Polyetherimide) substrate via spray pyrolysis [40]. They observed that undoped as well as Co and Indoped ZnO thin films exhibited Photocatalytic efficiency against crystal violet dyeup to 80% under either UV light or sunlight when irradiated for 210 min.…”

“…photocatalytic degradation of organic compounds but very few reports are available on photocatalytic hydrogen generation[36][37][38][39][40]. M.G.…”