The Effects of Non-thermal Plasma on the Morphology of Ce-doped ZnO: Synthesis, Characterization and Photocatalytic Activity of Hierarchical Nanostructures

ZnO nanoparticles with and without 8 mol % Ce dopant were synthesized by precipitation method and the prepared samples were treated with various types of non-thermal plasma in order to study their effects on the morphology and photocatalytic activity of the samples. As-prepared Ce-doped ZnO has a hexagonal wurtzite structure and the crystal system was not changed by the plasma treatment. The morphology of Ce-doped ZnO was changed from spherical particle to flower and rod-like shapes by the plasma treatment. The particle size of the treated Ce-doped ZnO is smaller in comparison with that of untreated sample. The photodegradation of methylene blue by the plasma-treated Ce-doped ZnO in aqueous solution is higher than that of the untreated Ce-doped ZnO. The enhancement of the photocatalytic activity by the plasma-treated samples may come from the particle size reduction, enhancement in charge separation efficiency and increase of the surface area.