Structural, morphological and optical studies of sol-gel engineered Sm3+ activated ZnO thin films for photocatalytic applications

T. Kiran; H. M. Parveez  Ahmed; Noor Shahina  Begum; Karthik  Kannan; D.  Radhika

doi:10.15330/pcss.21.3.433-439

Authors

T. Kiran SJB Institute of Technology
H. M. Parveez Ahmed Ghousia College of Engineering
Noor Shahina Begum Bengaluru University
Karthik Kannan Qatar University
D. Radhika Jain-Deemed to be University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15330/pcss.21.3.433-439

Keywords:

ZnO:Sm3, Thin films, XRD, DRS, photocatalysis

Abstract

Rare earth (RE) ions activated ZnO thin films were prepared via sol-gel route and the thin films be categorized by various techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies display the hexagonal wurtzite structure of the prepared thin films. Scherrer's formula was utilized to calculate the average crystallite size (25–40 nm) with different Sm³⁺ concentrations. The optical energy gap was calculated by Diffused Reflectance spectra (DRS). The Acid Red (AR) dye was degraded under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation with ZnO: Sm³⁺(1-9 mol %) nanostructured thin films and the highest photodegradation (95 %) was observed for 7 mol % of Sm³⁺ doped ZnO catalyst. All the obtained results suggest that prepared material could be a prominent material as photocatalyst.

Author Biographies

H. M. Parveez Ahmed, Ghousia College of Engineering

Dr. H M Parveez Ahmed, Professor, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry

Noor Shahina Begum, Bengaluru University

Dr. Noor Shahina Begum, Professor, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry

Karthik Kannan, Qatar University

Dr. Karthik Kannan, Research Fellow, Ph.D., Center for Advanced Materials

D. Radhika, Jain-Deemed to be University

Dr. D. Radhika, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Technology

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