Studies on electrical behavior of Fe doped ZnO nanoparticles prepared via co-precipitation approach for photo-catalytic application

In the present work, pure zinc oxide (ZnO) and iron (Fe) doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by a simple co-precipitation synthesis route. The hexagonal structure, crystalline nature and purity of the materials were confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction studies. The FTIR analysis confirms the presence of various functional groups in the Pure and Fe doped ZnO NPs. The shape and surface morphology of the Fe (0.02, 0.04 and 0.06%) doped ZnO NPs were determined by using Scanning Electron Microscopy and compositional elements were identified by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. The electrical properties of Fe doped ZnO NPs have been studied by dielectric and AC conductivity measurements. Low value of dielectric constant and the dielectric loss shows the suitability of the material for photonics and ferroelectric devices and also a small fraction amount of activation energy obtained from AC conductivity measurement is an added advantage for electro-optic device fabrication. The synthesized Fe (0.02, 0.04 and 0.06%) doped ZnO NPs were used as photo-catalyst for methylene blue dye degradation in various pH conditions.