Synthesis of nitrogen- and cobalt-doped rod-like mesoporous ZnO nanostructures to study their photocatalytic activity

Nitrogen- and cobalt-doped rod-like mesoporous ZnO nanostructures are synthesized using zinc acetate dihydrate, cobalt nitrate, urea, and surfactant Pluronic P123 in the hydrothermal method. Various characterization tools such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, UV–vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, FTIR, and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analyses are used to determine various parameters including crystallite size, band gap energy, elemental composition, recombination rate of charge carrier, pore size along with surface area, and effect of doping on these parameters. To determine the effect of codoping on the adaptable photocatalytic activity of pure ZnO in visible light, three water contaminant models of dissimilar chemical nature such as methylene blue, malachite green, and congo red are used.