Enhanced Sunlight Photocatalytic Performance of Hafnium Doped ZnO Nanoparticles for Methylene Blue Degradation

A series of Hf-doped ZnO nanocatalysts were synthesized by sol-gel method with a doping content up to 6mol%. The structure, morphologies, and optical properties of the synthesized catalysts were characterized by XRD, TEM, FTIR and UV-Vis absorption spectrometer. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the Methylene Blue degradation in aqueous solution under sun light irradiation. Irradiation time and doping content had important effects on the photocatalytic activity of Hf-doped ZnO. Hafnium content had an optimum value of 2mol% for achieving high photocatalytic activity. The experiments demonstrated that MB was effectively degraded up to 85% within 120 minutes. It was confirmed that the presence of Hafnium in ZnO catalysts could enhance the photocatalytic oxidation.