Photocatalytic characterization of Fe- and Cu-doped ZnO nanorods synthesized by cohydrolysis

Fe- and Cu-doped ZnO nanorods have been synthesized by a novel process employing a hydrolysis of metal powders. Zn, Fe, and Cu nanopowders were used as starting materials and incorporated into distilled water. The solution was refluxed at 60°C for 24h to obtain the precipitates from the hydrolysis of Zn and dopants (Cu and Fe). The TEM results for ZnO with and without metal doping showed that the produced powders had a rod-like shape. The rod shape was attributable to the zinc oxide from the hydrolysis of Zn. With an increasing doping content, the UV-vis spectra were shifted to a long wavelength and this result indicates that the band gap was changed by the metal doping. The values of phenol degrading Fe- and Cu-doped ZnO by a solar simulator were measured to be 60 and 75%, respectively.