<i>Ex Situ</i> Doping of ZnO Nanorods by Spray Pyrolysis Technique

Abstract

An ultraviolet (UV) shielding agent based on Fe-doped zinc oxide nanorods (ZnONRs) was synthesized by ex-situdoping using spray pyrolysis technique. These Fe-doped ZnO NRs could reduce the inherent photocatalytic activity of zinc oxide while still maintaining their ultraviolet filtering capability. In this work, the effect of doping duration by spray pyrolysis technique on the optical property and photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO NRs was studied. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) analysis on the Fe-doped ZnO NRs indicates the red-shift of violet emission peak, i.e. from 378.97 nm (undoped) to 381.86 nm (60 mins.doping). Besides, the reduction of IUV/Vis ratio of PL reveals that the ex-situ Fe doping deteriorated the crystal quality of ZnO NRs. The photocatalytic study shows that the rate constant of Fe-doped ZnO NRs was smaller than the undoped ZnO NRs. It means that the Fe-doped ZnO NRs were less effective in degrading the RhB solution.