Structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of ZnO nanoparticles modified with Cu

Abstract ZnO and ZnO modified with Cu nanoparticles have been prepared by a simple forced hydrolysis method. The concentration of Cu incorporated in ZnO ranged from 1% to 5% by atomic weight, and the influence of Cu concentration on the physical properties of ZnO and the relation to the photocatalytic performance has been investigated. The prepared ZnO and ZnO:Cu samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and UV–vis transmittance spectroscopy. The results show that the ZnO nanomaterial was crystalline with the hexagonal wurtzite structure, with the preferential orientation of the grains along the (101) plane. The average grain size for samples with 1–5% Cu was in the range of 11–29 nm. The ZnO nanoparticles annealed at 420 °C showed an increased photocatalytic activity for the decomposition of methylene blue.