Improved photocatalytic performance of Gd and Nd co-doped ZnO nanorods for the degradation of methylene blue

Abstract This paper reports the synthesis of pure ZnO, Gd and Nd co-doped ZnO nanorods based nanocomposites via simple hydrothermal method. Subsequently, the prepared photocatalysts were characterized using XRD, SEM/EDX, TEM, UV–visible and PL spectroscopy. The XRD results demonstrate that Gd and Nd ions were incorporated into ZnO lattice in the synthesized ZnO based nanocomposites and showed hexagonal wurtzite structure. The SEM and TEM results show that nanorods having nanoscale diameter and length were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method. The UV–visible spectroscopy verified that the band gap of ZnO was reduced due to incorporation of Gd and Nd into ZnO photocatalyst. Similarly, Gd and Nd incorporation into ZnO was found effective to reduce the recombination of electrons and holes as confirmed by PL spectroscopy. Moreover, the prepared nanocomposites with various atomic ratios (0.5–2%) were tested for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB), under visible light irradiation. The highly efficient and optimized 1.5% Nd/ZnO nanocomposite demonstrated enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of methylene blue compared to pure ZnO and other nanocomposites. Furthermore, the recycling results show that the 1.5% Nd/ZnO nanocomposites displayed good stability and long-term durability. These finding suggest that the ZnO based nanocomposite could be efficiently used in various energy and environmental applications.