Electrochemical determination of harmful catechol and rapid decolorization of textile dyes using ceria and tin doped ZnO nanoparticles

Abstract Electrochemical sensing of toxic pollutants as well as the degradation of toxic dyes using cost effective nanoparticles-based photocatalyst are one of the most effective ways to reduce environmental contaminants. Herein, ZnO and different percentage (1, 3, 5 & 10%) of Ce and Sn doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by a facile chemical method. The synthesized nanoparticles were used as modified electrode towards electrochemical detection of catechol (CA). It was found that the limit of detection and the sensitivity of the Ce/ZnO (5%) to be 0.21 μM and 0.494 μM μA−1, respectively. The doped ZnO exhibited lower band gap compared to pure ZnO, which facilitates to rapid photocatalytic degradation (~93%) of textile dyes (Crystal Violet & Rhodamine B) and catechol under visible light radiation. The environmental pollutants such as catechol, crystal violet and rhodamine B dye were effectively determined and degraded very successfully using couple of techniques such as cyclic voltametric and photodegradation.