One step synthesis of vertically grown Mn-doped ZnO nanorods for photocatalytic application

Pure and Mn-doped ZnO nanorods thin films on glass substrates were successfully synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal route. It was confirmed from XRD data that pure and Mn-doped ZnO samples show hexagonal (wurtzite) structures and the particle size was found to be in the range 27-31nm. From XRD data it was clearly found that vertical growth along (002) plane after Mn-doping into ZnO lattice. Functional groups and chemical species were detected using FT-IR spectra. Diameter and length of ZnO nanorods were determined by TEM which is in the range 350nm, 1-4m respectively. UV-Vis results exhibit red shift with increasing Mn concentration in ZnO lattice. The 5% Mn-doped ZnO sample exhibits higher fluorescence intensity in visible region with surface defects. The electrical resistance of pure and Mn-doped ZnO nanorods was demonstrated by I-V characteristics. It was explicitly outlined from Raman spectra E2 high mode was shifted towards the higher wavenumber from 439 to 440cm(-1) owing to Mn doping in ZnO lattice. The average surface area, pore volume, and pore diameter were measured by using the BET isotherm. The photocatalytic activity of pure and Mn-doped ZnO was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV-Vis light irradiation which indicates that 5% Mn-doped ZnO nanorods have better photocatalytic activity than other samples.