Influence of Sn Doping on the Structural, Morphological, Optical and Photocatalytic Functionality of ZnO Nanostructures

• Published in: Transactions on electrical and electronic materials Vol. 22; no. 6; pp. 717 - 724
• Main Authors: Ganesh Kumar, K., Balaji Bhargav, P., Ahmed, Nafis, Balaji, C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul The Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers (KIEEME) 01.12.2021; 한국전기전자재료학회
• Subjects: Chemistry and Materials Science; Electronics and Microelectronics; Instrumentation; Materials Science; Optical and Electronic Materials; Regular Paper; 전기공학; RAMAN; Photocatalytic evaluation; Sn–ZnO; Structural properties; FESEM; HRTEM
• ISSN: 1229-7607; 2092-7592
• DOI: 10.1007/s42341-021-00301-8

In the present study, pure and Tin (Sn) doped ZnO (Sn–ZnO) nanostructures are grown using hydrothermal method. The effect of Sn doping on the physical properties of ZnO is extensively studied. Till 4 mol% of Sn doping, the dopant is completely dissolved in the host matrix and no secondary phases are formed as evident from XRD studies. The presence of the constituent elements of the host matrix (Zn,O) and dopant (Sn) is confirmed using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). From FESEM images, it is evident that the morphology of the grown structures changes from rods to flowers and flakes with doping. The microstructural analysis is carried out using HRTEM analysis. Various polar and non-polar optical modes present in the samples are analysed using Raman spectra. Two dominant emission bands around ∼ 391 nm, ∼ 470 nm are noticed from photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The potential of the Sn doped ZnO nanostructures in photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B is investigated and found that 1 mol% Sn doped ZnO exhibits superior photo catalytic performance.