EFFECTS OF Cu DOPING ON NANO STRUCTURE, MORPHOLOGY AND PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY OF ZnO THIN FILM SYNTHESIZED BY SOL-GEL METHOD

Zinc oxide has been investigated due to its large band gap and several applications in science and industry. However, doping extrinsic impurities would change the resistivity of ZnO films which enhance their properties. In the present study, nano-structured ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO photocatalysts were successfully prepared on glass substrates by sol-gel dip-coatig method. Various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy were used to investigate the effect of the Cu-doped on ZnO thin film. The results showed that the doping greatly changed the microstructure, morphology and optical properties of ZnO, which may contribute to the enhancement of photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared pure ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO photocatalyst was investigated by the degradation of Methylene Blue solution. The results indicated that Cu-doped ZnO had a higher photocatalytic activity and Cu dopant greatly increased the photocatalytic activity of ZnO. Using C# programming language, we developed a software for more analyzing results.