Abstract In this work, we study bare and Nickel (Ni) doped ZnO nanostructured thin films synthesized by the chemical bath approach. The as-prepared thin films were characterized extensively by XRD, SEM, PL, and UV–visible spectroscopy before and after Ni incorporation. Finally, the photocatalytic action of all catalysts was assessed using methylene blue (MB) dye degradation under the visible light irradiation. X-ray diffraction analysis approves wurtzite hexagonal structure with predominant orientation along (0 0 2) plane, and crystallite size was noticed to reduce from 34 to 32 nm by Ni-doping. The SEM images proved the formation of well-defined nanowire structures. Photoluminescence analysis confirmed the band-edge and defect-related emission peaks. The intensity of PL spectra ensured a decreased value after Ni-doping, suggesting delayed electron-hole pair recombination, which influences the decolorization activity. The 3 wt% Ni-doped ZnO thin film possessed the least optical bandgap value of 3.21 eV. It was observed that the Ni (3%) doped ZnO nanowires showed a significantly improved photocatalytic performance (96%) compared to the pure ZnO nanostructure (83%).

中文翻译：

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Ni掺杂对用于光催化剂应用的CBD生长的ZnO纳米线的结构-形态-光致发光、光学和光催化活性的意义

摘要 在这项工作中，我们研究了通过化学浴法合成的裸露和镍 (Ni) 掺杂的 ZnO 纳米结构薄膜。在 Ni 掺入前后，通过 XRD、SEM、PL 和紫外-可见光谱对所制备的薄膜进行了广泛的表征。最后，在可见光照射下使用亚甲蓝 (MB) 染料降解评估所有催化剂的光催化作用。X 射线衍射分析证实纤锌矿六方结构主要沿 (0 0 2) 面取向，并且通过 Ni 掺杂注意到微晶尺寸从 34 nm 减小到 32 nm。SEM 图像证明了明确定义的纳米线结构的形成。光致发光分析证实了带边和缺陷相关的发射峰。PL 光谱的强度确保了 Ni 掺杂后的值降低，表明延迟电子 - 空穴对重组，这会影响脱色活性。3 wt% Ni 掺杂的 ZnO 薄膜具有 3.21 eV 的最小光学带隙值。据观察，与纯 ZnO 纳米结构 (83%) 相比，Ni (3%) 掺杂的 ZnO 纳米线显示出​​显着改善的光催化性能 (96%)。