Investigating the effect of nickel concentration on the photocatalytic activity of ZnO photocatalysts for methylene blue dye degradation prepared via facile green synthesis method

The current work used soursop fruit extract as a green stabilizing and reducing agent to synthesis ZnO and 0.05 M, 0.10 M, and 0.15 M Ni-doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs). The produced nanoparticles (NPs) demonstrated a typical crystallite size range of 38–45 nm, as assessed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) examination. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) validated the NPs’ cubic morphology. FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy was used to determine which functional groups stabilized and sealed the ZnO-NPs. As Ni doping increased, the bandgap decreased from 3.27 eV and was 2.85 eV for samples with 0.15 M Ni@ZnO, 2.97 eV for samples with 0.10 M Ni@ZnO, and 3.04 eV for samples with 0.05 M Ni@ZnO. A comprehensive investigation was conducted into the antibacterial efficiency of the produced NPs. The ZnO-NPs’ strong photocatalytic capabilities were further demonstrated by their remarkable 94.29 % degradation efficiency for methylene blue dye in just 50 min.