Synergistic effects of structural, crystalline, and chemical defects on the photocatalytic performance of Y-doped ZnO for carbaryl degradation

In this study, a photocatalytic material consisting of ZnO and yttrium-doped ZnO (YZO) nanoparticles was obtained via a facile precipitation conducted under ambient pressure whereby crystalline ZnO was successfully doped with yttrium. YZO had a hexagonal wurtzite polycrystalline structure with smaller crystal and grain sizes than ZnO, which in turn meant larger specific surface area and pore volume. Chemical defects were also produced, which facilitated photocatalytic activity, because such defects can act as reaction centers. The optical band gap magnitude and the diamagnetic nature of YZO were also determined. The structural, crystalline, and chemical defects of YZO synergistically enhanced the photocatalytic degradation of carbaryl; indeed, the kinetic rate constant of this reaction catalyzed by YZO was 11.17 × 10−2 min−1 under natural sunlight irradiation, higher than the value measured for ZnO (8.68 × 10−2 min−1). Evidence thus indicates that yttrium-doping effectively modified some properties of ZnO nanoparticles so that YZO nanoparticles proved a suitable photocatalytic material for carbaryl degradation.