Effect of Dopants on ZnO Mediated Photocatalysis of Dye Bearing Wastewater: A Review

Abstract

This article provides the brief overview on effect of dopant on the performance of zinc oxide (ZnO) as photocatalysts for the degradation of dye wastewaters. ZnO itself is a semi conductor having wide band gap (3.37eV), thus requiring high energy to work as a photocatalyst. To decrease the band gap or to alter its requirement of high energy from light sources like UV to visible (solar), surface modification or doping of ZnO is necessary. This paper discusses how dopant modifies the characteristics of ZnO which helps in degradation of dyes in colored wastewaters.