Structural, optical and visible light photocatalytic properties of nanocrystalline Nd doped ZnO thin films prepared by spin coating method

Nanostructured Nd doped ZnO thin films were deposited on glass substrate by a sol gel spin coating technique. The prepared thin films were subjected to structural, morphological, optical, photocatalytic and antibacterial studies. XRD studies confirm that all the prepared films possess hexagonal wurtzite structure. FESEM images revealed the granular morphology of the films without any crack and the crystallite size decreased with Nd doping. UV visible transmission spectra show that the substitution of Nd in ZnO leads to band gap reduction. The influence of Nd doping on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO for the degradation of methylene blue dye was studied under visible light illumination. The decrease in grain size and light absorption over an extended visible region by Nd ion doping in ZnO film contributed equally to improve the photocatalytic activity. The optical density measurement of the films against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria showed better bactericidal activity at a higher level of Nd doping in ZnO. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.