XU Xiaohong, CHEN Xia, WU Jianfeng, ZHOU Yang, REN Xiao, LIU Xinkun
(School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China)

Abstract: Nd-doped ZnO photocatalyst was prepared by microwave hydrothermal method in order to improve the photocatalytic performance of ZnO. The microstructure and performance of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV-Vis spectrophotometer (UV-Vis) and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. The results showed that all the samples were highly crystallized with a hexagonal wurtzite structure. The doping of Nd did not change the crystal structure of ZnO, but led to the lattice distortion and the increase of cell parameters, and also promoted the growth of ZnO crystals. The doping of Nd led to the redshift of UV-Vis absorption spectrums and the decrease of the band gap at different levels. Also,the photocatalytic performance of Nd/ZnO presented a reduction trend after a period of increase with the content of Nd increased. The Nd/ZnO sample achieved the optimal photocatalytic performance when the Nd doping amount was 0.20mol%, which made the degradation rate of methylene blue reach 91.01% under UV irradiation for 4 h.

Key words: Nd; ZnO; photocatalysis; microwave hydrothermal method; microstructure and performance