Visible light photo-degradation of methylene blue over Fe or Cu promoted ZnO nanoparticles

• Particle size and band gap of ZnO NPs is decreased upon Fe or Cu doping.
• Methylene blue (MB) is successfully degraded over ZnO and M doped ZnO (M = Cu, Fe) under a visible light assisted photocatalysis in aqueous dispersion.
• The Fe doped ZnO is more active photocatalyst than CuZnO and ZnO.

CuxZn(1−x)O, FexZn(1−x)O (x = 0.01) and ZnO nanoparticles were and were characterized by X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and SEM. The photodegradation of an aqueous solution of methylene blue (as an organic pollutant) by nanoparticles with H2O2 (30%) under visible light and the progress of the reaction were monitored by UV–Vis spectroscopy absorption. The photocatalytic oxidation efficiency of all nanoparticles was 100% at the appropriate time. The degradation time was 90 min for FeZnO, 120 min for CuZnO and 210 min for ZnO. This indicates that the photocatalytic activity of the doped nanoparticles was better than that of ZnO alone. ZnO doped with a small amount of Fe or Cu decreased the size of the nanoparticles and the band gap and increased photocatalytic efficiency.

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