Lanthanum and zirconium co-doped ZnO nanocomposites: synthesis, characterization and study of photocatalytic activity.

Nanocomposits of zinc oxide co-doped with lanthanum and zirconium were prepared using the modified sol-gel method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and BET surface area measurement. For comparison, the La and Zr mono doped ZnO have also been prepared under the same conditions. The XRD results revealed that all the materials showed a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure. It was found that the particle size of La-Zr-doped ZnO is much smaller as compared to that of pure ZnO. The effect of operational parameters such as, doping concentration, catalyst loading, pH and initial concentration of methylene blue on the extent of degradation was investigated. The photocatalytic activity of the undoped ZnO, mono-doped and La-Zr-ZnO photocatalysts was evaluated by the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue in aqueous solution. The presence of lanthanium and/or zirconium causes a red shift in the absorption band of ZnO. The results show that the photocatalytic activity of the La-Zr-ZnO photocatalyst is much higher than that of undoped and mono-doped ZnO, resulting from the La and Zr synergistic effect. The co-operation of the lanthanum and zirconium ion leads to the narrowing of the band gap and greatly improves the photocatalytic activity. The photocatalyst co-doped with lanthanum and zirconium 4 mol% shows the best photoactivity and photodecomposition efficiencies were improved by 92% under UV-Vis irradiation at the end of 30 min, compared with the pure and mono doped samples.