Study on the Preparation and Investigation of Structural and Photocatalytic Properties of ZnO Nanostructure Particle co-doped with Co2+, Ni2+ ions in Varying Molar Ratios

In this study, ZnO nanoparticles co-doped with CO
²⁺
and Ni
²⁺
ions with varrying molar ratios were successfully prepared by facile hydrothermal method. The characterizations and photocatalytic properties for decomposition the methylene blue dye solution were studied. The study methods used such as XRD, SEM, EDX and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The results show that the prepared samples were in the form of hexagonal wurtzite single-phase with nanometer crystal grain size. The optical band gap energy of CO
²⁺
, Ni
²⁺
co-doped ZnO samples were determined according to the Kubelka Munk (K-M) equation achieved values in the range of 3.15-3.17 eV which were smaller than that of undoped ZnO sample (3.37 eV). Thit is desirable in research on semiconductor materials with the aim to improve the applicability of materials that are responsive under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic efficiency for degradation of methylene blue dye solution of Co
²⁺
, Ni
²⁺
co-doped ZnO samples under visible light irradation were much improved compared to the undoped ZnO sample