A study of co-doping of rare earth and alkaline earth metals with zinc oxide nanoparticles
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Abstract
The current paper sums up the findings of the synthesis and the resultant properties of thorium (Th) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nano powder with co-doping of magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca), by the solution combustion synthesis method. The structural, morphological, and elemental analyses of the synthesized nanoparticles were examined by powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) with selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns and field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (FESEM/EDX). The optical properties were studied using ultraviolet visible near infra-red (UV-vis NIR) spectroscopy. The doped samples exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity. The PXRD spectra confirmed the crystalline nature of the samples, and the pure ZnO samples exhibited an average grain size of 42 nm. While the Th doped samples had a grain size of 20.03 nm, those of the samples co-doped with Mg and Ca grain size were 24.63 nm and 28.6 nm respectively. Thus, with doping, the grain size decreased while the crystallinity remained the same. The elemental composition analysis revealed that the elements on the surface of the prepared samples were zinc. The surface topography and morphology were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) which showed the homogenous distribution of the particles.
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