A comparative photocatalytic degradation study of Thymol blue dye over pristine ZnO and Er-doped ZnO

Abstract

Existing work describes the synthesis of pristine ZnO and Er-doped ZnO by mechanochemical method and evaluation of the photocatalytic activity synthesized samples towards photochemical degradation of Thymol Blue dye. The right calcination temperature has been gained from TGA-DTA analysis. FTIR results show the formation metal oxides from their respective precursors upon calcinations. XRD data obtained for ZnO and Er-ZnO clearly suggest the hexagonal wurtzite crystallite structures. FE-SEM images established nanocrystalline morphology. The elemental pureness of these samples is confirmed by EDX study. The optical band gaps are determined from UV-Visible spectroscopic studies. PL spectra are used to explore the additional information about optical properties of said photocatalysts. The comparative studies of photocatalytic activities of these materials towards degradation of Thymol Blue dye is carried out with respect to involved operational parameters. The possible degradation intermediates and products are also illustrated with HPLC & HRMS techniques.