Structural and Optical Properties of Doped Cadmium Oxide forPhotocatalytic Applications

Abstract

newline This thesis presents the synthesis of codoped cadmium oxide nanoparticles via the co-precipitation method with the intention of enhancing photocatalytic degradation capabilities. Three distinct series of nanoparticles were synthesized [Series 1:- (Cd1-(2x)ZnxAgxO, where x equals 0.00, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09), Series 2:- (Cd1-(2x)NixZnxO, where x equals 0.00, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09) Series 3:- (Cd1-(2x)NixAgxO, where x equals 0.00, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09)]. Systematic characterizations were performed using a suite of techniques, including X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Elemental Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Nitrogen Adsorption-Desorption Isotherm (BET), Diffused Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the degradation of crystal violet dye under UV-Vis Spectroscopy. newlineIn series 1, through chemical co-precipitation, pure as well as Zn and Ag codoped CdO nanoparticles were synthesized successfully. The prepared nanoparticles were found to be crystalline based on the XRD analysis. According to the FESEM micrographs, the synthesized nanoparticles exhibit a small rock-like morphology. Synthesized Nanoparticles were found to contain Zn, Ag, Cd, and O according to compositional analysis (EDX). In EDX spectra, there are no impurity peaks, indicating the purity of nanoparticles. Diffused Reflectance Spectroscopy was utilised for the analysis of optical properties, and the outcomes revealed that increasing the substitution of zinc and silver ions decrease the optical band gap. Because the gap in binding energies in middle of the two peaks is close to 6.8 eV, the Cd 3d5/2 and Cd 3d3/2 peaks in the XPS spectra demonstrate that doping with Zn and Ag ions did not alter the original oxide composition of CdO. The photocatalytic performance of prepared samples was examined using CV dye in presence of sunlight and it has been found that the degradation of CV dye has been increasing when the codoped samples are