Facile Synthesis of Ni-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Using Cashew Gum: Investigation of the Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic Properties
This work adopted a green synthesis route using cashew tree gum as a mediating agent to obtain Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles through the sol–gel method. Structural analysis confirmed the formation of the hexagonal wurtzite phase and distortions in the crystal lattice due to the inclusion of Ni cations,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/23/7772 |
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| author | Alexsandro Lins Aimee G. Jerônimo Ricardo Barbosa Luan Neves Pollyana Trigueiro Luciano C. Almeida Josy A. Osajima Francisca A. Pereira Ramón R. Peña-Garcia |
| author_facet | Alexsandro Lins Aimee G. Jerônimo Ricardo Barbosa Luan Neves Pollyana Trigueiro Luciano C. Almeida Josy A. Osajima Francisca A. Pereira Ramón R. Peña-Garcia |
| author_sort | Alexsandro Lins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This work adopted a green synthesis route using cashew tree gum as a mediating agent to obtain Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles through the sol–gel method. Structural analysis confirmed the formation of the hexagonal wurtzite phase and distortions in the crystal lattice due to the inclusion of Ni cations, which increased the average crystallite size from 61.9 nm to 81.6 nm. These distortions resulted in the growth of point defects in the structure, which influenced the samples’ optical properties, causing slight reductions in the band gaps and significant increases in the Urbach energy. The fitting of the photoluminescence spectra confirmed an increase in the concentration of zinc vacancy defects (V<sub>Zn</sub>) and monovacancies (Vo) as Zn cations were replaced by Ni cations in the ZnO structure. The percentage of V<sub>Zn</sub> defects for the pure compound was 11%, increasing to 40% and 47% for the samples doped with 1% and 3% of Ni cations, respectively. In contrast, the highest percentage of V<sub>O</sub> defects is recorded for the material with the lowest Ni ions concentration, comprising about 60%. The influence of dopant concentration was also reflected in the photocatalytic performance. Among the samples tested, the Zn<sub>0.99</sub>Ni<sub>0.01</sub>O compound presented the best result in MB degradation, reaching an efficiency of 98.4%. Thus, the recovered material underwent reuse tests, revealing an efficiency of 98.2% in dye degradation, confirming the stability of the photocatalyst. Furthermore, the use of different inhibitors indicated that •OH radicals are the main ones involved in removing the pollutant. This work is valuable because it presents an ecological synthesis using cashew gum, a natural polysaccharide that has been little explored in the literature. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:45:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5ae699eef0b040a4a8d666fe8e5bbffb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:45:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-5ae699eef0b040a4a8d666fe8e5bbffb2023-12-08T15:22:17ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492023-11-012823777210.3390/molecules28237772Facile Synthesis of Ni-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Using Cashew Gum: Investigation of the Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic PropertiesAlexsandro Lins0Aimee G. Jerônimo1Ricardo Barbosa2Luan Neves3Pollyana Trigueiro4Luciano C. Almeida5Josy A. Osajima6Francisca A. Pereira7Ramón R. Peña-Garcia8Unidade Acadêmica do Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Física, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Cabo de Santo Agostinho 52171-900, PE, BrazilUnidade Acadêmica do Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Física, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Cabo de Santo Agostinho 52171-900, PE, BrazilUnidade Acadêmica do Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Física, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Cabo de Santo Agostinho 52171-900, PE, BrazilUnidade Acadêmica do Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Física, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Cabo de Santo Agostinho 52171-900, PE, BrazilUnidade Acadêmica do Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Física, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Cabo de Santo Agostinho 52171-900, PE, BrazilDepartamento de Engenharia Química, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50670-901, PE, BrazilUniversidade Federal de Piauí, Teresina 64049-550, PI, BrazilUnidade Acadêmica do Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Física, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Cabo de Santo Agostinho 52171-900, PE, BrazilUnidade Acadêmica do Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Física, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Cabo de Santo Agostinho 52171-900, PE, BrazilThis work adopted a green synthesis route using cashew tree gum as a mediating agent to obtain Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles through the sol–gel method. Structural analysis confirmed the formation of the hexagonal wurtzite phase and distortions in the crystal lattice due to the inclusion of Ni cations, which increased the average crystallite size from 61.9 nm to 81.6 nm. These distortions resulted in the growth of point defects in the structure, which influenced the samples’ optical properties, causing slight reductions in the band gaps and significant increases in the Urbach energy. The fitting of the photoluminescence spectra confirmed an increase in the concentration of zinc vacancy defects (V<sub>Zn</sub>) and monovacancies (Vo) as Zn cations were replaced by Ni cations in the ZnO structure. The percentage of V<sub>Zn</sub> defects for the pure compound was 11%, increasing to 40% and 47% for the samples doped with 1% and 3% of Ni cations, respectively. In contrast, the highest percentage of V<sub>O</sub> defects is recorded for the material with the lowest Ni ions concentration, comprising about 60%. The influence of dopant concentration was also reflected in the photocatalytic performance. Among the samples tested, the Zn<sub>0.99</sub>Ni<sub>0.01</sub>O compound presented the best result in MB degradation, reaching an efficiency of 98.4%. Thus, the recovered material underwent reuse tests, revealing an efficiency of 98.2% in dye degradation, confirming the stability of the photocatalyst. Furthermore, the use of different inhibitors indicated that •OH radicals are the main ones involved in removing the pollutant. This work is valuable because it presents an ecological synthesis using cashew gum, a natural polysaccharide that has been little explored in the literature.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/23/7772green synthesisNi-doped ZnOnatural polysaccharidescashew gumphotocatalysis |
| spellingShingle | Alexsandro Lins Aimee G. Jerônimo Ricardo Barbosa Luan Neves Pollyana Trigueiro Luciano C. Almeida Josy A. Osajima Francisca A. Pereira Ramón R. Peña-Garcia Facile Synthesis of Ni-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Using Cashew Gum: Investigation of the Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic Properties Molecules green synthesis Ni-doped ZnO natural polysaccharides cashew gum photocatalysis |
| title | Facile Synthesis of Ni-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Using Cashew Gum: Investigation of the Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic Properties |
| title_full | Facile Synthesis of Ni-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Using Cashew Gum: Investigation of the Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic Properties |
| title_fullStr | Facile Synthesis of Ni-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Using Cashew Gum: Investigation of the Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic Properties |
| title_full_unstemmed | Facile Synthesis of Ni-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Using Cashew Gum: Investigation of the Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic Properties |
| title_short | Facile Synthesis of Ni-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Using Cashew Gum: Investigation of the Structural, Optical, and Photocatalytic Properties |
| title_sort | facile synthesis of ni doped zno nanoparticles using cashew gum investigation of the structural optical and photocatalytic properties |
| topic | green synthesis Ni-doped ZnO natural polysaccharides cashew gum photocatalysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/23/7772 |
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