Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 78335-78350 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | RSC Advances |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 82 |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Abstract
The degradation of organic pollutants in the aqueous medium using semiconductor photocatalysts has become an attractive method for detoxification of water. ZnO is an efficient photocatalyst with few disadvantages such as: (i) the wide band gap (3.37 eV); and (ii) the fast recombination rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs which limit the photodegradation efficiency of bare ZnO photocatalyst. Herein, we report a strategy for the suppression of electron-hole pair recombination rate, extention the absorption edge in the visible region and enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency by introducing rare earth metal as a dopant. We present the fabrication of pure and Er/Nd doped ZnO semiconductor photocatalysts with hexagonal wurtzite structure using sol gel method. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by standard analytical techniques, such as XRD, SEM-EDS, TEM, FTIR, XPS, BET, TGA, DTA, DSC, PL, DRS and UV-vis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of pure and doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated by studying the degradation of two different organic dyes as a function of irradiation time. The results indicate that the photocatalytic activity of doped ZnO was found to be higher than bare ZnO for degradation of dyes. This may be attributed predominantly due to decrease in the recombination rate by the efficient charge separation of photoinduced electron-hole pair as inferred from PL studies. The results also indicate that parameters such as amount of photocatalyst dose, initial pH and different quenchers play a significant role for degradation of model dyes. The synthesized photocatalyst was recycled four times for degradation of dye with very little decrease in efficiency. Interestingly, comparative in vitro antibacterial and anticancer potential of the pure and Er/Nd doped ZnO NPs were also investigated against human pathogenic bacterial strains and various human cancer cell lines. The result of our study clearly revealed that Nd doped ZnO NPs showed better antibacterial as well as anticancer efficacy as compared to pure and Er doped ZnO NPs.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Chemistry(all)
- General Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering(all)
- General Chemical Engineering
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: RSC Advances, Vol. 6, No. 82, 2016, p. 78335-78350.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Facile fabrication of highly efficient modified ZnO photocatalyst with enhanced photocatalytic, antibacterial and anticancer activity
AU - Raza, W.
AU - Faisal, S.M.
AU - Owais, M.
AU - Bahnemann, D.
AU - Muneer, M.
N1 - Funding information: Financial support from the Research Project from the Ministry of Mines, Government of India, New Delhi, Alexander von Humboldt foundation, Germany, under research group linkage programme and DRS, FIST and PURSE support to the Department of Chemistry, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, is gratefully acknowledged. We thank the Department of Physics, A. M. U, Aligarh, for conducting the XRD analysis of the synthesized materials.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - The degradation of organic pollutants in the aqueous medium using semiconductor photocatalysts has become an attractive method for detoxification of water. ZnO is an efficient photocatalyst with few disadvantages such as: (i) the wide band gap (3.37 eV); and (ii) the fast recombination rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs which limit the photodegradation efficiency of bare ZnO photocatalyst. Herein, we report a strategy for the suppression of electron-hole pair recombination rate, extention the absorption edge in the visible region and enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency by introducing rare earth metal as a dopant. We present the fabrication of pure and Er/Nd doped ZnO semiconductor photocatalysts with hexagonal wurtzite structure using sol gel method. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by standard analytical techniques, such as XRD, SEM-EDS, TEM, FTIR, XPS, BET, TGA, DTA, DSC, PL, DRS and UV-vis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of pure and doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated by studying the degradation of two different organic dyes as a function of irradiation time. The results indicate that the photocatalytic activity of doped ZnO was found to be higher than bare ZnO for degradation of dyes. This may be attributed predominantly due to decrease in the recombination rate by the efficient charge separation of photoinduced electron-hole pair as inferred from PL studies. The results also indicate that parameters such as amount of photocatalyst dose, initial pH and different quenchers play a significant role for degradation of model dyes. The synthesized photocatalyst was recycled four times for degradation of dye with very little decrease in efficiency. Interestingly, comparative in vitro antibacterial and anticancer potential of the pure and Er/Nd doped ZnO NPs were also investigated against human pathogenic bacterial strains and various human cancer cell lines. The result of our study clearly revealed that Nd doped ZnO NPs showed better antibacterial as well as anticancer efficacy as compared to pure and Er doped ZnO NPs.
AB - The degradation of organic pollutants in the aqueous medium using semiconductor photocatalysts has become an attractive method for detoxification of water. ZnO is an efficient photocatalyst with few disadvantages such as: (i) the wide band gap (3.37 eV); and (ii) the fast recombination rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs which limit the photodegradation efficiency of bare ZnO photocatalyst. Herein, we report a strategy for the suppression of electron-hole pair recombination rate, extention the absorption edge in the visible region and enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency by introducing rare earth metal as a dopant. We present the fabrication of pure and Er/Nd doped ZnO semiconductor photocatalysts with hexagonal wurtzite structure using sol gel method. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by standard analytical techniques, such as XRD, SEM-EDS, TEM, FTIR, XPS, BET, TGA, DTA, DSC, PL, DRS and UV-vis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of pure and doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated by studying the degradation of two different organic dyes as a function of irradiation time. The results indicate that the photocatalytic activity of doped ZnO was found to be higher than bare ZnO for degradation of dyes. This may be attributed predominantly due to decrease in the recombination rate by the efficient charge separation of photoinduced electron-hole pair as inferred from PL studies. The results also indicate that parameters such as amount of photocatalyst dose, initial pH and different quenchers play a significant role for degradation of model dyes. The synthesized photocatalyst was recycled four times for degradation of dye with very little decrease in efficiency. Interestingly, comparative in vitro antibacterial and anticancer potential of the pure and Er/Nd doped ZnO NPs were also investigated against human pathogenic bacterial strains and various human cancer cell lines. The result of our study clearly revealed that Nd doped ZnO NPs showed better antibacterial as well as anticancer efficacy as compared to pure and Er doped ZnO NPs.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84984706657&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1039/c6ra06774c
DO - 10.1039/c6ra06774c
M3 - Article
VL - 6
SP - 78335
EP - 78350
JO - RSC Advances
JF - RSC Advances
SN - 2046-2069
IS - 82
ER -