Preparation and Photocatalytic Properties of Zn Doped Ba Germanate Nanorods

Zn doped Ba germanate nanorods have been prepared by the hydrothermal process and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and solid UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. XRD analysis shows that the Zn doped Ba germanate nanorods consist of hexagonal Ba2Ge5O12 and rhombohedral ZnGeO3 phases. The size and band gap of the Zn doped Ba germanate nanorods depend on the Zn doping mass percentage. The band gap of the 1wt.% Zn doped Ba germanate nanorods is 4.07 eV which is smaller than that of undoped and Zn doped Ba germanate nanorods with the Zn doping mass percentage of 3%, 5% and 10%. The role of the irradiation time and content of the nanorods in aqueous solution has been analyzed. The 1wt.% Zn doped Ba germanate nanorods show the highest photocatalytic activity under UV light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity has been greatly enhanced by the Zn doping.