Encapsulated Co-ZnO nanospheres as degradation tool for organic pollutants: Synthesis, morphology, adsorption and photo luminescent investigations

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures, both undoped and Co-doped, were synthesized through the solution combustion process. The diffraction patterns from powder XRD revealed that the materials were crystalline. The morphology of the spherically formed nanoparticles was visualized in SEM micrographs. FTIR spectra verified the existence of a defect-associated peak in Co-encapsulated ZnO (Zn0.98Co0.02O) NPs. Photoluminescence studies are undertaken. Malachite Green (MG) dye is used as a representative organic pollutant to study the adsorptive degradation of Co-doped ZnO nanomaterial. Moreover, the adsorption properties, including isotherm and kinetics, are investigated by analyzing the degradation of MG dye. Experimental parameters, such as the concentration of the MG dye, dosage and pH, were varied to ascertain favorable conditions for the degradation study. The results indicate that the MG dye is 70% degraded. After Co-doping, near-band edge emission in undoped ZnO changed into intense red defect emission and was directly correlated with changes in PL emission.

Automated summary

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures, both undoped and Co-doped, were synthesized via the solution combustion process. The materials were found to be crystalline based on XRD analysis. SEM micrographs visualized the spherical nanoparticles morphology. FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of defect-associated peak in Co-doped ZnO (Zn0.98Co0.02O) NPs. Photoluminescence studies were conducted, and the adsorptive degradation of Co-doped ZnO nanomaterial using Malachite Green (MG) dye as a representative organic pollutant was investigated. The degradation of MG dye was analyzed to study the adsorption properties, including isotherm and kinetics. Experimental parameters, such as the concentration of the MG dye, dosage, and pH, were varied to determine optimal conditions for the degradation study. The results showed that 70% of the MG dye was degraded. After Co-doping, the near-band edge emission in undoped ZnO transformed into intense red defect emission, which was directly correlated with changes in PL emission.