Novel Sol-Gel synthesis of cerium-doped ZnO thin films for photocatalytic activity

Abstract

The Ce-doped ZnO films on silica glass plates were prepared by sol-gel dip coating technique. The surface morphology of thin films was characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Optical properties of films have been investigated using UV-visible spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity was established by testing the degradation of Alizarin Red (AR) from aqueous solution. The test of photocatalytic activity of the heat-treated Ce-doped ZnO films were also carried out under visible light irradiation.