Photocatalytic dye degradation efficiency of Co doped ZnO nanostructure

The influence of transition metal doping on the dye degradation efficiency of ZnO nanostructures are investigated by pristine and 3% Co doped ZnO nanostructures (Co: ZnO) grown by simple hydrothermal method. Phase purity and crystal structure of synthesized samples are revealed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the spectra confirms the phase pure material with hexagonal wurtzite structure. The crystalline size is found to decrease with Co doping. Optical characterization was done by UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy. Optical study confirms that the band gap energy of the samples during doping with Co decreases as compared to pure ZnO. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized samples under sunlight over the Crystal Violet (CV)dye was investigated for pure and doped samples. The result showed that the pure ZnO samples act as an efficient material for photocatalysis as compared to 3% Co doped sample.