Synthesis, characterization and applications of Gadolinium doped ZnS nanoparticles as photocatalysts for the degradation of dyes (Malachite Green and Rhodamine B) and as antioxidants

Abstract

The paper reports the synthesis and characterization of PVP capped doped Zinc sulphide nanoparticles using Gadolinium as a doped metal by bottom up chemical co-precipitation method. The spectroscopic techniques used for the characterization of nanoparticles are Fourier Transform infra-red spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and High Resolution Transmission electron microscopy. Optical Studies are done with UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy to determine the band gap energy of nanoparticles. Photocatalytic degradation of Malachite Green and Rhodamine B dyes in aqueous medium are studied in UV and sunlight irradiation with synthesized nanoparticles as catalysts. The synthesized nanoparticles are also evaluated as antioxidants using DPPH assay method. Statistical analysis is done to find the extent of linear fitting of scavenging efficiency with concentration of synthesized compounds.

Keywords

• Nanoparticles
• Nanophotocatalysts
• Antioxidant