Structural and optical properties of Fe- doped ZnO thin films prepared by Sol–Gel spin coating process and their photocatalytic activities

Abstract

Pure and Fe-doped zinc oxide nanocrystalline films were prepared
via a sol–gel method using -
C for 2 h.
The thin films were prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction
(XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning
electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and UV- visible spectroscopy. The
XRD results showed that ZnO has hexagonal wurtzite structure and
the Fe ions were well incorporated into the ZnO structure. As the Fe
level increased from 2 wt% to 8 wt%, the crystallite size reduced in
comparison with the pure ZnO. The transmittance spectra were then
recorded at wavelengths ranging from 300 nm to 1000 nm. The
optical band gap energy of spin-coated films also decreased as Fe
doping concentration increased. In particular, their optical band gap
energies were 3.75, 3.6, 3.5, 3.45 and 3.3 eV doping concentration of
0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% Fe, respectively. The performance of the
pure and doped ZnO thin films was examined for the photocatalytic
activity using organic dyes (methyl orange, methyl blue, methyl
violet). The samples ZnO with concentration of Fe showed increased
photocatalytic activity with an optimal maximum performance at
0.8 wt%.