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This research aims to investigate the effects of copper and cobalt co-doping on the optical properties and photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanomaterials.

July 13, 2026Results in Materials0 citationsOpen Access

Synthesis of copper and cobalt co-doped ZnO nanomaterials: effect of optical property tuning on visible light-driven photocatalytic activity

DMDebebe Mikore BKBontu Kefale DTDereje Tsegaye

Key Points

This research aims to investigate the effects of copper and cobalt co-doping on the optical properties and photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanomaterials.
Copper and cobalt co-doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using the self-propagation method following sol-gel synthesis.
Characterization included X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS), and photoluminescence (PL) analyses.
Photocatalytic activity was assessed by measuring the degradation rate of methylene blue dye under visible light.
CCZ NPs showed a degradation rate constant of 0.089 min -1 for methylene blue, compared to 0.051 min -1 for pure ZnO NPs.
Optical properties of the CCZ NPs improved due to effective charge separation and enhanced visible light absorption.
The presence of CuO and ZnO heterojunctions was confirmed through d-spacing analysis.

Abstract

Doping or co-doping can improve the optoelectronic and structural characteristics of metal oxide semiconductors. Here, the Cu and Co co-doped ZnO nanoparticles (CCZ NPs) were synthesized using the self-propagation approach, which occurs after passing the sol-gel synthesis method. The XRD pattern peak shifts confirmed the doping of Cu and Co in ZnO crystal nanoparticles. The HRTEM d-spacing analysis (0.26 nm (002) and 0.15 nm (220)) indicates the existence of ZnO and CuO crystals as a heterojunction, respectively. The EDS analysis shows the decent distribution of copper and cobalt dopant elements on the ZnO host surface. The improvement in optical properties of the CCZ NPs is verified using UV-vis DRS and PL analyses. The CCZ NPs at a low dopant concentration level demonstrate a higher capability for degrading methylene blue (MB) dye with a rate constant k value of 0.089 min -1 , compared to the pure ZnO NPs ( k = 0.051 min -1 ). The increased performance of the CCZ NPs is mainly attributed to the effective charge separation and enhanced visible light harvesting properties. Thus, CCZ NPs show great potential for the environmental cleanup and decontamination of various pollutants.

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