Photocatalytic activity of Zn-doped Fe2O3 nanoparticles: a combined experimental and theoretical study

Iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticles were synthesized by a simple co-precipitation method. The effect of Zn concentration on Fe2O3 nanoparticles was investigated by structural and electronic properties. X-ray diffractograms indicate the formation of a hematite Fe2O3 structure. The calculated particle sizes for undoped-Fe2O3 and Zn-doped Fe2O3 are 31 and 15 nm, respectively. The photocatalytic test was performed against methylene blue to find the efficiency of the photocatalytic activity of the prepared nanoparticles. From the results, it is found that compared to undoped-Fe2O3, the efficiency of Zn-doped Fe2O3 increases considerably. To understand the mechanism behind the photocatalytic activity, a DFT-based calculation was performed to measure the band edge positions of the undoped and Zn-doped Fe2O3 nanostructures and the results are matched well with experimentally observed values.