Synthesis and Investigation of Optical and Photocatalytic properties of ZnO nanoparticles co-doped with Ti/Si

In this study, zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized with the addition of Ti (10% mol) and Si (10% mol) by sol-gel method. The properties of samples contaminated with metal cations (SZ, TZ, STZ) were compared with pure zinc oxide (ZnO = Z). XRD, SEM and UV-VIS methods are used to study crystalline phases, morphology and particle size, optical properties and photocatalytic properties of nanoparticles. Photocatalytic properties of the samples were studied under UV exposure for one hour using methylene blue (MB) as a color contaminant in the textile industry. X-ray diffraction results show that all samples are formed at 450 ° C from the crystalline phase of zinc oxide with a vortex composition. The particle size of the samples in the presence of titanium and silicon metal cations is smaller than that of the zinc oxide sample. Investigation of the optical properties of the samples shows an increase in the band gap of the samples relative to the pure zinc oxide sample. The photocatalytic efficiencies of the samples indicate a positive presence of metal contaminants to improve the photocatalytic properties of the samples, such that in the sample with the simultaneous contaminant (STZ), compared to the pure ZnO sample and the individual contaminants ( TZ and SZ) have a higher photocatalytic efficiency.