Author's Accepted Manuscript

Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles for efficient photo-

catalytic degradation of direct red-23 dye
R. Kumar, Ahmad Umar, G. Kumar, M.S. Akhtar,
Yao Wang, S.H. Kim

www.elsevier.com/locate/ceramint

PII: S0272-8842(15)00329-6
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2015.02.110
Reference: CERI10032

To appear in: Ceramics International

Received date: 6 February 2015

Accepted date: 19 February 2015

Cite this article as: R. Kumar, Ahmad Umar, G. Kumar, M.S. Akhtar, Yao Wang, S.H.
Kim, Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles for efficient photocatalytic degradation of direct red-
23 dye, Ceramics International, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2015.02.110

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 Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles for efficient
photocatalytic degradation of direct red-23 dye

R. Kumar,1 Ahmad Umar2,3*, G. Kumar,1 M. S. Akhtar4, Yao Wang5, S. H. Kim2,3

1
PG Department of Chemistry, JCDAV College, Dasuya-144205,Punjab, India,
2
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Arts, Najran University, Najran University,
P.O. Box 1988, Najran, 11001, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
3
Promising Centre for Sensors and Electronic Devices (PCSED), Najran University, P.O. Box
1988, Najran, 11001, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
4
New and Renewable Energy Materials Development Center (New REC), Chonbuk National
University, South Korea
5
School of Chemistry and Environment, Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial
Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, PR
China

*Corresponding Author: ahmadumar786@gmail.com

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Abstract:

This paper reports the simple, rapid and high-yield synthesis of Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles

using solution combustion method and its application for photocatalytic degradation. Several

concentrations of Ce (0.5%, 1.39%, 2.55%, 3.28%, 3.71% and 4.14 %) were doped into ZnO and

the prepared nanoparticles were characterized by several techniques in terms of their

morphological, structural, compositional, optical and photocatalytic properties. The detailed

characterization studies revealed that the prepared Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles are well-

crystalline and possessing good optical properties. Further, the prepared Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles were used as efficient photocatalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of harmful

organic dye, i.e. direct red-23 (DR-23). From the detailed photocatalytic experiments, it was

observed that Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles are exhibiting appreciable photocatalytic activity and

the degradation percentage was increased with increasing the concentration of Ce up to 3.28%;

however, when the Ce concentration was further increased, the photocatalytic degradation was

decreased. Thus, at optimum Ce concentration (3.28%), the prepared Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles are exhibiting appreciable photocatalytic degradation (~99.5 %) only in 70 min.

Keywords: Ce-doped ZnO; nanoparticles, Photo-degradation; Direct Red -23; Photocatalyst.

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1. Introduction

Recently, the semiconductor nanomaterials have attracted a wide attention because of their

exotic optical, electrical, electronic, photocatalytic, mechanical, thermal, etc properties [1] and

variety of high-technological applications. Among various semiconductor nanomaterials, the II-

VI semiconductor ZnO possesses a special place due to its several interesting properties and

broad applications. Some of the interesting properties of ZnO are its wide band gap (3.37 eV),

large exciton binding energy (60 meV), high optical gain at room temperature, large saturation

velocity, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity, easy and low-cost

synthesis, etc [2-14]. Because of these excellent properties, ZnO nanomaterials are widely used

for several applications, to name a few, solar cells, chemical and biosensors, ultraviolet (UV)

lasers, light emitting diodes (LEDs), photo-detectors, piezoelectric transducers and actuators,

hydrogen storage, photo catalysts and so on [1-8].

Doping of ZnO nanomaterials to certain extent considerably increases the surface defects

which can presumably shift the absorption towards visible region. The enhancement in optical

absorption in surface defects by doping has been studied by several research groups using

different transition metals such as Ni [15, 16], Cu [17], Co [18], Mn [19], Mo [20], V and W

[21], Fe [22], etc and representative elements such as Na, K, Li, N and B, etc [23-25]. These

dopants are usually introduced into ZnO matrix, occupying substitution or interstitial sites. In

addition to these elemental dopants, some works have also been done to dope rare earth metals

(Er, Yb, La, Nd and Ce) into the interstitial sites of ZnO crystals [26-29]. The rare-earth metal

doped semiconducting nanomaterials have shown wide range of applications in lasers,

amplifiers, thin film electroluminescent devices and optoelectronic/cathodoluminescent devices

[26-29]. It is believed that the rare earth ion doping can produce traps for photogenerated charge

-3-
carrier and decrease the electron–hole pair recombination rate [30]. Thus, several methods such

as hydrothermal, spray pyrolysis, radio frequency sputtering, sol–gel, chemical spray, thermal

evaporation etc, were employed to prepare lanthanide doped ZnO nanomaterials and reported in

the literature [31-37]. However, most of the reported methods are time consuming and need

complicated equipments, expensive chemicals and operate only under particular and controlled

reactions conditions such as pH, growth time, concentrations, etc. Thus, it is still needed to

develop a convenient and cost effective method to synthesize well-crystalline lanthanide doped

ZnO nanomaterials.

Among various lanthanides, cerium (Ce) has been received much attentions as promising

dopant for metal oxide semiconducting materials due to several unique properties and

applications [35-39]. Recently, Lamba et al. [35] synthesized well-crystalline CeO2-ZnO

hexagonal nanodisks through simple and facile chemical process and utilized for photocatalytic

degradation of hazardous direct blue (DB)-15 dye under solar light irradiation. Chang et al. [36]

reported the effective photo-degradation of direct blue 86 (DB-86), food black-2 (FB-2) and

methyl orange (MO) dyes using Ce-doped ZnO photocatalyst under UV and visible light

irradiation. Dar et al. [37] synthesized Ce-doped ZnO nanorods by hydrothermal method and

used as electrode materials for hydroquinone chemical sensor. Chang et al. [38] also prepared

Ce-doped ZnO nanorods through solution method on Pt spiral electrodes for the detection of NO2

gas at low temperature. Very recently, Li et al. have demonstrated the growth of pure and Ce-

doped ZnO follow nanofibres and used those nanostructures for the fabrication of gas sensors

[39].

This paper reports a very simple, unique and rapid synthesis method to prepare Ce-doped

ZnO nanoparticles via solution combustion process. The advantage of solution combustion

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process is that, this synthesis process is rapid, facile, and simple. Moreover, the prepared

products are well-crystalline and possessing good structural and optical properties. The prepared

Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by several techniques and finally used as

efficient photocatalyst for photocatalytic degradation of harmful organic dye, i.e. Direct Red-23

dye.

2. Experimental details

2.1. Synthesis of Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles

The synthesis of Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles were carried out by facile solution

combustion method modified from the earlier reported ones [10, 11]. All the chemicals used in

the synthesis were purchased from CDH, India and used as received without further purification.

De-ionized (DI) water was used as solvent in all synthesis process. In a typical synthesis process,

0.02 M zinc nitrate hexahydrate was mixed well with 0.02 M dextrose, both dissolved in 10 ml

DI water, each, under continuous stirring at room-temperature. During stirring, specific amount

of cerric ammonium nitrate, depending upon the dopant concentrations, was added in the

resultant solution and stirring was continued for 30 min. After stirring, the resultant solution was

filtered and obtained filtrate was transferred to a china dish which was thereafter placed in a

preheated muffle furnace at 400°C. After 5- 8 min contents ignite results the formation of highly

spongy material which was crushed and annealed further at 600°C for 30 min. The doped ZnO

samples with 0.5%, 1.39%, 2.55%, 3.28%, 3.71% and 4.14 % Ce were named as CZ-1, CZ-2,

CZ-3, CZ-4, CZ-5, CZ-6, respectively. The samples obtained were then characterized in detail in

terms of their morphological, structural, compositional, optical and photocatalytic properties

using various analytical techniques.

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2.2. Photocatalytic degradation of DR-23 dye

The photocatalytic degradation of direct red-23 (DR-23), a water soluble dye widely used in

textile industry, was performed in a pyrex photo-reactor equipped with a water-circulating jacket

maintaining a constant temperature, an opening for supply of oxygen and another opening for

drawing samples with the help of syringe at regular time intervals during the experiment. To

maintain homogeneity of the reaction solution, the photoreactor was placed on a magnetic stirrer.

A 125 W low pressure mercury lamp was placed in the centre of the photoreactor as a source of

UV radiation. For photocatalytic experiments, 150 mL solution of DR-23 dye (40 ppm) was

prepared in DI water and 0.075 g of prepared Ce-doped ZnO nanomaterials, as photocatalyst,

was added in it. The resulting suspension was sonicated for 10 minutes and then equilibrated by

stirring for 20 min to stabilize the absorption of the dye over the surface of photocatalyst before

exposing to the light. The photocatalytic decomposition of DR-23 dye was examined for

analytical samples taken out from photo-reactor at regular time intervals, centrifuged at 3000

rpm for 10 min and analyzed for their absorption using UV–visible spectrophotometer (Systronic

- 2202) at 512 nm wavelength. The percentage photo-degradation was calculated using eq. 1

Ao − A
Percentage photodegradation = X 100 ………….(1)
Ao

where, Ao is the initial absorbance of dye and A is the absorbance of dye after irradiation.

3. Results and discussions

3.1. Structural, compositional and optical properties of Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles

The general morphologies of prepared Ce-doped ZnO nanomaterials were analyzed by field

emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM, JEOL-JSM-7600F). Fig. 1 (a) – (f) revealed

-6-
the typical FESEM images of prepared various Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles namely, CZ-1, CZ-

2, CZ-3, CZ-4, CZ-5, CZ-6, respectively, with particular Ce concentrations doped into ZnO

lattices.

Fig.1. (a)– (f) Typical FESEM images for CZ-1, CZ-2, CZ-3, CZ-4, CZ-5, CZ-6, Ce-doped ZnO
nanoparticles, respectively. Inset of each figure represents the corresponding EDS spectra for the
Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles.

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 It is evident from the observed FESEM images that the prepared materials possess

nanoparticles shape and grown in very high density. Interestingly, the shapes for all the Ce-

doped ZnO nanoparticles are almost same and the typical sizes of the nanoparticles are in the

range of ~ 50 ± 5 nm. It was also observed that the size of the nanoparticles decreases with

increasing the Ce-doping concentrations. To examine the elemental composition, the prepared

nanoparticles were evaluated by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), attached with FESEM.

Insets of fig. 1 (a)-(f) represent the typical EDS spectra along with elemental compositions of

Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles for CZ-1 to CZ-6 samples. It is noted that 0.5% Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles sample (CZ-1) does not have any Ce peak, which may be due to the presence of

very low concentration of Ce ion. However, all other samples exhibited well-defined peaks for

Ce ions. Further, except Zn, O, and Ce, no other peak related with any impurity was seen in the

spectrum, up to the detection limit of EDS, which confirmed that the prepared nanoparticles are

Ce-doped ZnO without any significant impurity.

To examine the crystallinity and crystal phases, the prepared Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern. Fig. 2 shows the typical X-

ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of prepared Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles. All the observed XRD

patterns exhibited well-defined diffractions reflections at 2θ= 31.5°, 34.4°, 36.1°, 47.6°, 56.5° ,

62.9° , 66.3°, 68.1°, 69.3°, 74.1° and 78.2°, corresponding to the wurtzite hexagonal phase ZnO

lattice planes of (100), (002), (101), (102), (110), (103), (200), (112), (201), (004) and (202)

respectively. The observed diffraction reflections are well-matched with the standard JCPDS

data card no. 36-1451 and the reported literature [11-14, 47]. In addition to the well-defined

diffraction reflections of wurtzite hexagonal phase of ZnO, a weak reflection appearing at 2θ =

-8-
28.7o was also seen which is attributed to (111) plane for CeO2 crystalline structure [42, 44].

Interestingly, the intensity of this peak increases with increasing the Ce-doping concentrations.

Fig. 2. Typical XRD patterns for CZ-1, CZ-2, CZ-3, CZ-4, CZ-5, CZ-6, Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles, respectively

To examine the chemical compositions and purity, the prepared Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles were examined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy at room-

temperature in the range of 400-4000 cm-1. Fig. 3 shows the typical FTIR spectra of prepared

CZ-1, CZ-2, CZ-3, CZ-4, CZ-5, CZ-6, Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles. The observed FTIR spectra

exhibited various well-defined absorption bands at 431, 1629 and 3450 cm-1. The appearance of

-9-
a sharp and strongest peak at 431 cm-1 is related with the metal-oxygen (Zn-O) mode which

confirms the formation of ZnO [11-14, 43, 45]. The presence of a short band at 1629 cm-1 can be

assigned to the first overtone of the fundamental stretching mode of the O—H bond of

physiosorbed water. Finally, the presence of a small and wide band at 3450 cm−1 can be

attributed to the O-H stretching vibrations for Ce-doped ZnO [42, 43, 45, 46].

Fig. 3. Typical FTIR spectra for CZ-1, CZ-2, CZ-3, CZ-4, CZ-5, CZ-6, Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles, respectively

-10-
 The optical properties of the prepared Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles were examined by

UV-Vis. spectroscopy at room-temperature. Figure 4 exhibits the typical UV-Vis. spectra of

prepared Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles. All the Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles samples exhibited a

single and well-defined absorption peak which corresponds to characteristic band for wurtzite

hexagonal phase ZnO as reported in the literature [10- 14]. Interestingly, the absorption peak

slightly shifts from 377.6 nm to 374.2 nm with the increase Ce doping. This shifting in the

absorption peaks to the lower wavelength results in increasing the band gap of Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles. A single absorption peak for each doped sample reveals that the Ce is efficiently

doped into the lattices of ZnO and all the samples possessing good optical properties.

Fig. 3. Typical UV-Visible spectra for CZ-1, CZ-2, CZ-3, CZ-4, CZ-5, CZ-6, Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles, respectively

-11-
3.2. Photocatalytic degradation of prepared Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles

Photocatalytic studies of Ce-doped ZnO as photocatalyst have been examined by

performing the photodegradation of DR-23 dye (40 ppm) under the UV irradiation.

Fig. 5 shows the comparison of extent of photocatalytic degradation efficiency for DR-23

dye obtained with different Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles (CZ-1 to CZ-6) photocatalysts under

similar experimental conditions. By detailed photocatalytic experiments, it was observed that the

Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles with 3.28% Ce doping drastically decreases the absorbance of DR-

23 dye with the increase of irradiation time.

Fig.5. A/Ao for DR-23 dye with Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles vs Irradiation time (min).

-12-
 Figure 6(a) shows the variations in the percentage photodegradation with irradiation time

for the photodegradation of the DR-23 dye using Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles (CZ-1 to CZ-6

samples).

Fig.6. (a) Percentage photodegradation of DR-23 with Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles vs

Irradiation time (min). (b) Comparison of irradiation time required for almost complete
degradation of DR-23 dye using various synthesized photocatalysts.

-13-
 It was observed from the detailed photocatalytic experiments that the absorbance of dye

solution decreases with increasing the illumination time. Moreover, with increasing the Ce

doping concentration up to 3.28%, the percent degradation was increases significantly; however

further increasing the Ce doping concentration (3.71% and 4.14 % Ce), the degradation was

decreased. The obtained results demonstrate that a particular amount of Ce doping (3.28 % Ce)

into ZnO is important to completely degrade the DR-23 dye. Thus, at optimum Ce concentration

(3.28%), the prepared Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles are exhibiting appreciable photocatalytic

degradation (~99.5 %) only in 70 min. Further, the photocatalytic activity of the Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles were compared with the ZnO nanoparticles [10] and it was found that Ce-doped

ZnO nanoparticles exhibited better photocatalytic performances. Fig. 6 (b) exhibits the

comparison bar diagram for the photocatalytic degradation of DR-23 dye. Noticeably, the

complete photo-degradation was observed within 110 min for each sample and the percentage

photodegradation increases with increasing the extent of Ce doping up to 3.28% and afterward it

decreases. Thus, it can be confirmed that 3.28% Ce doping into ZnO is the best composition for

the complete degradation of DR-23 dye in 70 min.

Fig. 7 exhibits the variations of the absorbance vs. wavelength as a function of UV

irradiation time for the photocatalytic degradation of DR-23 dye in the presence of various Ce-

doped ZnO photocatalysts. A strong absorption bands at wavelength 512 nm represents the λmax.

for the dye under investigation. This band shows a steady decreasing trend for each Ce-doped

ZnO photocatalyst with increasing irradiation times. The absorption maxima corresponding to

the dye were decreasing; showing complete destruction of dye takes place in presence of the

catalyst. It can also be clearly seen that almost complete photodegradation within 70 minutes of

UV irradiation is observed for CZ-4 photocatalyst for DR-23 dye.

-14-
Fig.7. Variations in absorption spectra vs. wavelength for the photocatalytic degradation of DR-
23 as a function of irradiation time in the presence of photocatalyst (a) CZ-1, (b) CZ-2, (c) CZ-3,
(d) CZ-4, (e) CZ-5 and (f) CZ-6.

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Fig.8. Percentage photo-degradation vs percentage Ce-doping of ZnO nanoparticles after 70
minutes of UV irradiation.

Fig. 8 represents the percentage photodegradation of the DR dye with Ce concentration

after 70 minutes of photo irradiation. It shows that the degradation rate increases from ~85 % for

0.5% Ce-doped ZnO (CZ-1) to 99.5 % for 3.28% Ce-doped ZnO (CZ-4) and then percentage

photodegradation decreases sharply to 67.7 % for 4.14% Ce-doped ZnO. The enhanced

photocatalytic activity of Ce-doped ZnO photocatalysts is explained on the basis of the electron

and hole migration to the catalytic surface upon UV irradiation and subsequent participation in

redox reaction with the adsorbed dye [14, 48, 49]. Doping of ZnO with Ce4+ is expected to

increases the surface defects, also refers to create trap centers, which enhance the photocatalytic

efficiency. Ce4+ ions can also act as effective electron scavenger to trap the conduction band

electrons, eliminating or reducing the probability of electron-hole recombination. This can

efficiently transfer photogenerated electrons to participate in redox reaction generating •OH free

radicals causing dye degradation. Oxygen vacancy on the catalytic surface can also serve as trap

-16-
for electrons from conduction band. But at higher Ce concentrations, the number of free electron

decreases as a result of their trapping in Ce4+ ions, thereby decreasing photo-degradation [50].

The proposed mechanism for the photocatalytic activity of Ce-doped ZnO is shown in

fig. 9. For Ce doped ZnO nanomaterials, the Ce4+ ions incorporated in ZnO lattice are supposed

to absorb photo-excited electrons from the conduction band of the ZnO and get reduced into Ce3+

ions. Reduced Ce3+ ions are oxidized by transferring the electron to the adsorbed O2 molecules

which produce the superoxide radical ( Ο 2−• ) [42, 44, 51, 52]. As a result, a continuous trapping

system becomes functional on the surface of the doped ZnO nanomaterials and inhibits the

electron–hole recombination. This means that Ce4+ on the surface of ZnO nanoparticles may act

as an electron scavenger. The Ο 2−• radical anions further result in the formation of HO• radicals

which are mainly responsible for the dye degradation.

Fig.9. Proposed mechanism for the photocatalytic activity of Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles

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 Furthermore, it has also been observed that as the extent of Ce increases, the particle size

(Fig. 1 (a)-(f)) and λmax (Fig. 4) for doped ZnO materials decreases. Consequently the band gap

energy of doped ZnO widens as compared to the pure ZnO nanomaterials, leading to extended

electron-hole stability and increased photocatalytic efficiency [14, 42, 51, 52]. Table-1 clearly

presents that the prepared Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles photocatalysts exhibited better

photocatalytic performances compared to other ZnO and Ce-doped ZnO nanomaterials based

photocatalysts reported in the literature.

Table -1. Comparison of the Photocatalytic performance of prepared Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles and other pure ZnO and Ce-doped ZnO photocatalysts reported in the literature.

Photocatalyst Dye Dye conc. Catalyst Irradiation time Percent Ref.

load (gL-1) (min.) degradation
ZnO nanoprticles DR-23 40 ppm 0.5 110 100 [10]
CeO2-ZnO Nanodisc Direct Blue -15 50 ppm 0.5 120 93.00 [35]
Ce-ZnO Nanorods Direct Blue -15 10 ppm - 15(UV), 50 (vis) 100 [36]
Methyl orange 20(UV), 80 (vis)
Food black-2 32(UV), 90 (vis)
Ce-ZnO Nanorods MB 0.02mM 0.4 90 100 [39]
Ce-ZnO Nanomaterial MB 0.0275 mM 0.6 150 100 [40]
Ce-ZnO Nanoparticles MB - 0.8 75 100 [41]
Ce-ZnO Nanoparticles MB 1 ppm 1.0 120 94.33 [42]
Ce-ZnO Nanoneedles MB 0.01 mM 5.0 300 100 [43]
Ce-ZnO Hexagonal Acid red-27 0.5 mM 4.0 120 91 [44]
Ce-ZnO Nanomaterial DR-23 40 ppm 0.5 70 100 This
work

-18-
3.3. Kinetic studies of the photocatalytic degradation using Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles

The kinetic studies for the photodegradation of DR-23 dye utilizing Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles were also studied using kinetic model proposed by Langmuir– Hinshelwood [53,

54] (eq. 2)

Co
ln = kt …………(2)
C
Where Co is the initial concentration of DR-23 and C is the concentration of DR-23 dye at

irradiation time t. Fig. 10 (a) shows the plot of ln(Co/C) vs irradiation time for Ce-doped ZnO

nanoparticles as photocatalyst. It has been found that the photodegradation of DR-23 dye for

each sample of the photocatalyst obeyed pseudo first order reaction kinetics, as the linear pattern

with good precision is observed between ln(Co/C) and the irradiation time t. Fig. 10 (b) depicts

the variations of rate constant (k) for pure ZnO [10] and Ce-doped ZnO photocatalyst observed

during photocatalytic degradation of DR-23 dye under UV light irradiation. A close look at the

bar diagrams clearly shows that pseudo-first order rate constant is maximum for CZ-4 sample as

compared to pure ZnO as well as other Ce-doped ZnO nanomaterials. The kinetics data is also

summarized in Table 2. Pseudo first order rate constant k (min−1) for Ce-doped ZnO

photocatalyst was found to be maximum i.e., 0.05404 min−1 (std. error: 0.00424, R2 = 0.91679).

Additionally, half life time (t1/2) was minimum (12.82 min.) for the same. Furthermore, it can

also be concluded from Table-2 that Ce-doping of ZnO nanoparticles enhances the photocatalytic

degradation of the DR-23 dye as compared to pure ZnO nanomaterials as photocatalyst [10].

-19-
Fig.10. (a) Pseudo-first order kinetics for DR-23 dye in presence of various Ce-doped ZnO as
photocatalysts (b) Variations of rate constant (k) for Ce-doped ZnO photocatalyst observed
during photocatalytic degradation of DR-23 dye under UV light irradiation.

-20-
Table-2. Kinetics data for DR-23 dye photodegradation in the presence pure ZnO and Ce-
doped ZnO nanoparticles photocatalysts.

Photocatalyst Rate constant (min-1) t1/2(min) R R2

Pure ZnO 0.02064 33.57 0.99617 0.99236
CZ-1 0.02546 27.22 0.99061 0.98131
CZ-2 0.02915 23.77 0.98750 0.97517
CZ-3 0.03838 18.06 0.97247 0.94569
CZ-4 0.05404 12.82 0.95749 0.91679
CZ-5 0.03567 19.43 0.98801 0.97616
CZ-6 0.03063 22.62 0.99595 0.99191

4. Conclusion

In summary, well-crystalline Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by simple self-

propagating solution combustion method and efficiently applied for the photodegradation of non-

biodegradable DR-23 dye. The detailed characterizations confirmed that the as synthesized Ce-

doped ZnO nanoparticles were well-crystalline and exhibiting good optical properties. The

detailed photocatalytic experiments revealed that the Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles exhibited

better photocatalytic activity compared to pure ZnO nanoparticles. The percent photodegradation

was increases with increasing the concentration of Ce doping up to 3.28%, however, thereafter it

was decreased. Interestingly, a complete degradation for 3.28% Ce-doped ZnO nanoparticles was

observed only in 70 min. The increased photocatalytic performance in Ce-doped ZnO might be

due to the widening of band gap energy of ZnO as compared to the pure ZnO nanomaterials,

leading to extended electron-hole stability and increased photocatalytic efficiency. Thus, Ce-

doped ZnO nanomaterials can be considered as effective photocatalysts, compared to pure ZnO,

for the complete photodegradation of various organic dyes and chemicals to less harmful

chemicals.

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Acknowledgement

Ahmad Umar would like to acknowledge the support of the Ministry of Higher Education,

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PCSED-021-13) under the Promising Centre on Sensors and

Electronic Devices at Najran University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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