Influence of La-doping on phase transformation and photocatalytic properties of ZnTiO₃nanoparticles synthesized via modified sol–gel method

Abstract

Non-doped and La-doped ZnTiO3 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via a modified sol-gel method. The synthesized nanoparticles were structurally characterized by PXRD, UV-vis DRS, FT-IR, SEM-EDS, TEM, Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The results show that doping of La into the framework of ZnTiO3 has a strong influence on the physico-chemical properties of the synthesized nanoparticles. XRD results clearly show that the non-doped ZnTiO3 exhibits a hexagonal phase at 800 °C, whereas the La-doped ZnTiO3 exhibits a cubic phase under similar experimental conditions. In spite of the fact that it has a large ionic radius, the La is efficiently involved in the evolution process by blocking the crystal growth and the cubic to hexagonal transformation in ZnTiO3. Interestingly the absorption edge of the La-doped ZnTiO3 nanoparticles shifted from the UV region to the visible region. The photocatalytic activity of the La-doped ZnTiO3 nanoparticles was evaluated for the degradation of Rhodamine B under sunlight irradiation. The optimum photocatalytic activity was obtained for 2 atom% La-doped ZnTiO3, which is much higher than that of the non-doped ZnTiO3 as well as commercial N-TiO2. A possible mechanism for the degradation of Rhodamine B over La-doped ZnTiO3 was also discussed by trapping experiments. More importantly, the reusability of these nanoparticles is high. Hence La-doped ZnTiO3 nanoparticles can be used as efficient photocatalysts for environmental applications.

A large red-shift in the photoluminescence emission of Mg 1−x Sr x TiO 3

“…In particular, the photoluminescence (PL) properties are an important quantum optical phenomenon and are one of the most powerful methods for studying the order-disorder effects in semiconductors [8,9]. The doping process in semiconductors often causes significant alterations in the structural and electronic properties of these materials, and is the most promising strategy to further enhance their properties and applications in materials science [5,6,[15][16][17]. However, few studies have been reported on near-infrared (NIR) emissions for such particles [14].…”

“…Perovskite structures have the general formula ABO 3 , where the divalent metal (A) is a network modifier and tetravalent metal sites (B) are network formers for these structures [2]. The Perovskite material ABO 3 structure can adopt five phases, cubic, tetragonal, orthorhombic, trigonal, and monoclinic polymorphs depending on the tilting and rotation of the [BO 6 ] polyhedral clusters in the lattice [3]. In this context, considerable effort has been devoted to the production of perovskite oxide materials with a large variety of morphologies and sizes, due to their high potential for use in lightemitting diodes, photocatalysts, sensors, microwave dielectrics, and photovoltaic applications [4][5][6][7].…”

“…The Perovskite material ABO 3 structure can adopt five phases, cubic, tetragonal, orthorhombic, trigonal, and monoclinic polymorphs depending on the tilting and rotation of the [BO 6 ] polyhedral clusters in the lattice [3]. In this context, considerable effort has been devoted to the production of perovskite oxide materials with a large variety of morphologies and sizes, due to their high potential for use in lightemitting diodes, photocatalysts, sensors, microwave dielectrics, and photovoltaic applications [4][5][6][7]. Understanding the relationship between the structural and electronic order-disorder effects in the crystalline materials is crucial in designing novel materials with tunable physical and chemical properties [8,9].…”

“…Perovskite oxides are a fascinating class of multifunctional inorganic materials that have attracted much attention in recent years [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Perovskite structures have the general formula ABO 3 , where the divalent metal (A) is a network modifier and tetravalent metal sites (B) are network formers for these structures [2].…”

Structural, optical and antibacterial properties of yttriumdoped ZnO nanoparticles

“…Besides, ZnO nanoparticles also exhibiting antimicrobial activities against Escherichiacoli and Staphylococcus aureus [7][8][9][10][11]. Several researchers reported doping of ZnO with metals such as Mn, Co, Cr, Cu, In and Laby various methods such as hydrothermal, sol-gel and coprecipitation method but only few reports are available ZnO doped with Al and Y [12][13][14][15][16].…”