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Nano Biomedicine and Engineering 2022, 14(1): 58-70 https://doi.org/10.5101/nbe.v14i1.p58-70
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 09 May 2022

Synthesis Europium (Eu3+) Doped Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles via the Co-Precipitation Method for Photocatalytic Applications

Show Author's Information Gemechu Barsisa1,  Abebe Belay1( ),  Gashaw Beyene1,  Cherente Seboka2,  Kusse Gudishe3
Adama Science and Technology University, School of Applied Natural Science, Department of Applied Physics, Adama, Ethiopia, P.O.Box: 1888
Madda Walabu University, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Department of Physics, Robe, Ethiopia, P.O.Box: 247
Jinka University College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Department of Physics, Jinka, Ethiopia, P.O.Box: 165
Keywords:
Photoluminescence, Co-precipitation Method, Photocatalytic activity, Methylene blue, Zinc oxide nanoparticles
Cite this article:
Barsisa G, Belay A, Beyene G, et al. Synthesis Europium (Eu3+) Doped Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles via the Co-Precipitation Method for Photocatalytic Applications. Nano Biomedicine and Engineering, 2022, 14(1): 58-70. https://doi.org/10.5101/nbe.v14i1.p58-70
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Abstract Full text About this article

Rare earth elements doped with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) have gathered a remarkable interest for their potential credence due to their high luminescent intensities. In this research, europium ion (Eu3+) doped and undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles (Eu1-xZnxO) (x = 0.03, 0.06, 0.09) were synthesized via co-precipitation method. The effects of varying the concentration of the europium ion (Eu3+) on the structure and optical properties were investigated. The structural and optical properties of europium ion (Eu3+) doped and un-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were characterized by XRD, UV-Vis, Photoluminescence, and FT-IR Spectroscopy. The XRD results reveal the Europium ion (Eu3+) was successfully incorporated into the zinc oxide host matrix and made highly crystalline. All the synthesized samples have a hexagonal wurtzite structure. UV-Vis absorption spectra measurements revealed increasing the dopant concentration increases the energy band compared to the undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles. Photoluminescence spectra confirmed doping europium ion (Eu3+) predominantly enhances the visible emission with various series characteristics of blue and green emission compared to undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) which exhibits the near band emission. Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectral analysis indicated the presence of functional groups attached to Europium ion (Eu3+) doped and undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs). In addition, the presence of an additional spectrum band with increasing the concentration of dopant amount demonstrates that europium ions (Eu3+) were successfully substituted into the zinc oxide host matrix. The photocatalytic activity response is investigated using organic methylene blue (MB) as a pollutant model and dopant played the role in enhancing the photocatalytic kinetics because Eu3+ ions act as an electron acceptor to promote charge separation and photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity of europium ion (Eu3+) doped zinc oxide nanoparticles has higher performance than undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) since the dopant has the potential candidate in minimizing the recombination probability which in turn improves the performance of photocatalytic activities which makes it suitable for the local environment.


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About this article

Synthesis Europium (Eu3+) Doped Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles via the Co-Precipitation Method for Photocatalytic Applications

Show Author's information Gemechu Barsisa1, Abebe Belay1( ), Gashaw Beyene1, Cherente Seboka2, Kusse Gudishe3
Adama Science and Technology University, School of Applied Natural Science, Department of Applied Physics, Adama, Ethiopia, P.O.Box: 1888
Madda Walabu University, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Department of Physics, Robe, Ethiopia, P.O.Box: 247
Jinka University College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Department of Physics, Jinka, Ethiopia, P.O.Box: 165

Abstract

Rare earth elements doped with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) have gathered a remarkable interest for their potential credence due to their high luminescent intensities. In this research, europium ion (Eu3+) doped and undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles (Eu1-xZnxO) (x = 0.03, 0.06, 0.09) were synthesized via co-precipitation method. The effects of varying the concentration of the europium ion (Eu3+) on the structure and optical properties were investigated. The structural and optical properties of europium ion (Eu3+) doped and un-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were characterized by XRD, UV-Vis, Photoluminescence, and FT-IR Spectroscopy. The XRD results reveal the Europium ion (Eu3+) was successfully incorporated into the zinc oxide host matrix and made highly crystalline. All the synthesized samples have a hexagonal wurtzite structure. UV-Vis absorption spectra measurements revealed increasing the dopant concentration increases the energy band compared to the undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles. Photoluminescence spectra confirmed doping europium ion (Eu3+) predominantly enhances the visible emission with various series characteristics of blue and green emission compared to undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) which exhibits the near band emission. Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectral analysis indicated the presence of functional groups attached to Europium ion (Eu3+) doped and undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs). In addition, the presence of an additional spectrum band with increasing the concentration of dopant amount demonstrates that europium ions (Eu3+) were successfully substituted into the zinc oxide host matrix. The photocatalytic activity response is investigated using organic methylene blue (MB) as a pollutant model and dopant played the role in enhancing the photocatalytic kinetics because Eu3+ ions act as an electron acceptor to promote charge separation and photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity of europium ion (Eu3+) doped zinc oxide nanoparticles has higher performance than undoped zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) since the dopant has the potential candidate in minimizing the recombination probability which in turn improves the performance of photocatalytic activities which makes it suitable for the local environment.

Keywords: Photoluminescence, Co-precipitation Method, Photocatalytic activity, Methylene blue, Zinc oxide nanoparticles

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 02 September 2021
Accepted: 08 May 2022
Published: 09 May 2022
Issue date: March 2022

Copyright

© Gemechu Barsisa, Abebe Belay, Gashaw Beyene, Cherente Seboka, and Kusse Gudishe.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work is financially supported by Adama Science and Technology University and the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Ethiopia. We would like to appreciate the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Adama Science and Technology University for allowing us to use XRD and to perform photocatalytic activity facilities. And also, we like to appreciate the Biology Department of Adama Science and Technology University for allowing us to perform UV-Vis Spectroscopy and Antibacterial Activity facilities. Finally, the author (s) would like to thank Addis Ababa University in cooperation with the Faculty of College of Natural Science, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for allowing us to use the FT-IR instruments.

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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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