Developments and applications of metal doped and composite nanocatalysts

In this study, it was aimed to develop zinc oxide based semiconductor photocatalysts. For this purpose, metal doped and semiconductor metal oxide ZnO structures were synthesized by different doping and synthesis methods and their photocatalytic properties were investigated. The study was conducted in four separate sections. In the first part, palladium was doped into ZnO using different doping methods and characterized by XRD, FE-SEM and DRS techniques and their photocatalytic activities under UV irradiation were compared. In the second part, noble metals such as Au, Ag and Pd were doped into ZnO by the borohydride reduction method and the photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, DRS and FMR techniques. In the third part, tannin-based Zinc Ferrite/Zinc Oxide nanocomposite photocatalysts which are not included in the literature were synthesized by solvothermal method. The effect of zinc ferrite and tanin structures on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO under visible radiation was investigated. In the fourth part, magnetic Ag3PO4/Fe3O4/ZnO, which are active under visible light, have been used for the degradation of indigo carmin dye. In the fifth section, Ag/Ag2CrO4/ZnO plasmonic photocatalysts were prepared and investigated for photocatalytic activity in the degradation of indigo carmin dye under visible light. As a result of the studies, metal-doped and semi-conductive metal oxide ZnO photocatalysts could be prepared more cheaply and practically and successfully used in wastewater treatment. It was also found that the tannin showed positive results on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO. The addition of magnetic materials to ZnO is considered to be an advantage in applying wastewater treatment to re-usability by easily separating ZnO from its dye suspensions by imparting magnetic properties. The surface plasmonic resonance of silver, and the low band gap energy of Ag2CrO4, significantly increased the photocatalytic performance of ZnO.