Physical and photocatalytic properties of sprayed Dy doped ZnO thin films under sunlight irradiation for degrading methylene blue

Dysprosium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films have been prepared through spray pyrolysis onto glass substrates. Cross-sections of the deposited thin films were assessed through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), showing thicknesses between 200 and 300 nm. The thin film roughness was evaluated using...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:RSC advances 2021-07, Vol.11 (4), p.24917-24925
Main Authors: El Fidha, G, Bitri, N, Chaabouni, F, Acosta, S, Güell, F, Bittencourt, C, Casanova-Chafer, J, Llobet, E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic force microscopes
Atomic force microscopy
Chemistry
Crystal lattices
Crystal structure
Crystallography
Degradation
Doping
Dysprosium
Energy value
Glass substrates
Irradiation
Methylene blue
Oxidation
Photocatalysis
Photoelectrons
Photoluminescence
Photomicrographs
Photovoltaic cells
Spectrophotometry
Spectrum analysis
Spray pyrolysis
Sunlight
Thickness
Thin films
Valence
X ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Zinc oxide
Zinc oxides
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Summary:Dysprosium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films have been prepared through spray pyrolysis onto glass substrates. Cross-sections of the deposited thin films were assessed through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), showing thicknesses between 200 and 300 nm. The thin film roughness was evaluated using the obtained images from the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) micrographs. The crystallographic structure of the samples was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealing polycrystalline thin films. However, the slight shift towards a higher 2 angle in Dy-doped ZnO films as compared to the pure ones indicates the incorporation of Dy 3+ into the ZnO crystal lattice. The analysis of the oxidation state via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirms the incorporation of Dy ions in the ZnO matrix. Besides, UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometry analysis and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy showed that bandgap energy values of ZnO decreased when dysprosium doping increased. Therefore, Dy doped ZnO thin films can be potentially used as a solar-light-driven photocatalyst. Among the different doping yields, the ZnO doped with 6% dysprosium provides the highest degradation rate for methylene blue (MB) under solar irradiation. Specifically, 9% of dye degradation was achieved under sunlight irradiation for 120 minutes. Dysprosium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films prepared through spray pyrolysis show outstanding photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue.
ISSN:2046-2069
2046-2069
DOI:10.1039/d1ra03967a