Zn-Doped Iron Oxide Thin Films Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis Technique and Characterized for Use as an Efficient Photocatalyst for Methyl Green Organic Dye

Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis (USP) technique was used to prepare undoped and (2, 4, 6 and 10 at. %) Zn-doped iron oxide (FexOy:Zn) thin films for use in photocatalytic applications. The effect of Zn ion substitution on structural, optical, and electrical properties was studied. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed that there are two different phases of iron oxide, a hematite phase (α‑Fe2O3) and a magnetite phase (Fe3O4) that crystallized in the prepared samples. The nominal fractions of α‑Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 phases changed from 74 % to 42 % for the hematite phase and from 26 % to 58 % for the magnetite phase and this confirmed that the Zn doping favored the growth of Fe3O4 phase. The crystallite size decreased from 15.43 nm to 8.99 nm, while the micro-strain changed from 0.0056 to 0.0215 and the dislocation density from 0.0099 nm‑2 to 0.0639 nm‑2. The unit cell parameters were also improved when the doping rate was changed. Optical measurements showed that the energy gap decreased from 2.26 eV to 2.16 eV, the film thickness changed from 569 nm to 479 nm while the refractive index increased from 2.99 to 3.51 and the Urbach energy from 544 meV to 558 meV. Electrical measurements performed by the two-point probe method showed that the electrical conductivity increased directly with increasing Zn concentration reaching 18.5 10‑15 (Ω.cm)‑1 with 10 at. % Zn concentration. The variation of the electrical conductivity curves versus the sample heating temperature as well as the activation energy showed a semiconductor behavior of the films. Zinc doped iron oxide thin films exhibit 51.85 % photocatalytic degradation efficiency for methyl green organic dye.