Fabrication of a novel ZnO/Lu2O3 nanomaterial for the photocatalytic disposal of methylene blue dye under solar cell illumination

Abstract

Pure zinc oxide nanoparticles (NPs) and its nanocomposite ZnO/Lu₂O₃ NPs with Zn/Lu varied weight ratios (Zn/Lu; 97:3, 94:6, and 91:9%) were produced using a precipitation process under optimal circumstances. The synthesized samples were analyzed using diffraction of X-ray, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectra. The ZnO NPs as-prepared possess a highly crystalline structure of wurtzite ZnO and great phase purity. The combined Lu₂O₃ and ZnO NPs show a Lu₂O₃ zinc blend phase as well as the pure ZnO’s wurtzite phase, proving the samples’ excellent purity and crystallinity as-prepared. Increasing the Lu₂O₃ percentage to 9% resulted in a considerable drop in the surface area of ZnO samples from 29.9 to 8.4 m²/g and the volume of the pore from 0.3536 to 0.020 cm³/g, according to nitrogen adsorption–desorption studies. The study found that adding Lu₂O₃ NPs improves the photocatalytic capabilities of ZnO NPs for methylene blue degradation. Mixed 9% Lu₂O₃ and 91% ZnO NPs have much higher photocatalytic activity than pure ZnO NPs due to their high crystallinity and small energy gap.