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Tuning the defects and luminescence of ZnO:(Er, Sm) nanoflakes for application in organic wastewater treatment

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Abstract

A series of ZnO nanoflakes modified with rare earth ions of Er and Sm were prepared by a simple chemical solution deposition approach. It was found that the doping content of rare-earth ions was dominant for the defects in the nanoflakes and the ability of photocatalytic degradation for rhodamine B (RhB). The ZnO:(Er, Sm) nanoflakes exhibited a superior photocatalytic activity compared to undoped ZnO mainly due to the longer lifetime of photogenerated electrons-hole pairs in the process of photocatalytic reaction, and Zn0.98Sm0.01Er0.01O nanoflakes could degrade 96.5% RhB within 60 min under UV light irradiation. PL results provided a strong evidence for the existence of VO defect, which was also found to be responsive for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of ZnO:(Er, Sm) nanoflakes. And the peaks at 515 nm and 550 nm could be attributed to the transitions of \(^{2} H_{11/2} \to^{4} I_{15/2}\) and \(^{4} S_{3/2} \to^{4} I_{15/2}\) from Er3+ ions, indicating the realization of green luminescence.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51608226, 21776110, 21878119), Program for the development of Science and Technology of Jilin Province (Item No. 20180101202JC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Physics and Chemistry of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Siping, 136000, People’s Republic of China

    Zhe Zhang, Yuxin Song, Si Wu, Qi Zhang, Jingshu Wang, Jinghai Yang, Zhong Hua & Jihui Lang

  2. School of Science, Changchun University, Changchun, 130022, People’s Republic of China

    Jiale Guo

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  1. Zhe Zhang
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Correspondence to Zhong Hua or Jihui Lang.

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Zhang, Z., Song, Y., Wu, S. et al. Tuning the defects and luminescence of ZnO:(Er, Sm) nanoflakes for application in organic wastewater treatment. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 30, 15869–15879 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-019-01911-y

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