ZnO is a versatile photocatalytic material, yet it needed further modifications to explore it on the commercial scale. In the present study, photoactive Li doped ZnO nano-materials with different Li content were synthesized by adopting a facile low-temperature solution combustion approach. Li was introduced to improve ZnO characteristics correspond to photocatalytic efficiency. The effect of lithium doping on morphology, crystallinity, chemical state, and optical properties were investigated by utilizing various advanced techniques. The characterization analysis confirms the presence of thermally stable, well-crystalline wurtzite ZnO with a low bandgap and porous nature. Organic dye, Cibacron Red (CR), and a pesticide, Triclopyr (TC) were taken as model pollutants to evaluate the photodegradation performance of all samples under UV light source. Li doped ZnO nanomaterials containing 5 mol% Li attained the highest photocatalytic activity for the removal of both pollutants. The results of the study demonstrate that a strong electronic interaction between Li and ZnO results in the improvement of charge transferability and retards their recombination. The alteration in optical and surface properties of ZnO due to the substitution of Li into ZnO lattice was another reason for the superior activity of Li doped ZnO.

ZnO 是一种多功能的光催化材料，但它需要进一步修改才能在商业规模上进行探索。在本研究中，采用简便的低温溶液燃烧方法合成了不同锂含量的光活性锂掺杂 ZnO 纳米材料。引入锂是为了改善与光催化效率相对应的 ZnO 特性。利用各种先进技术研究了锂掺杂对形态、结晶度、化学状态和光学性质的影响。表征分析证实了具有低带隙和多孔性质的热稳定、结晶良好的纤锌矿 ZnO 的存在。以有机染料 Cibacron Red (CR) 和农药绿草定 (TC) 为模型污染物，评估所有样品在紫外光源下的光降解性能。含有 5 mol% Li 的 Li 掺杂 ZnO 纳米材料对两种污染物的去除具有最高的光催化活性。研究结果表明，Li 和 ZnO 之间的强电子相互作用可提高电荷转移性并阻止它们的复合。由于 Li 取代 ZnO 晶格而导致 ZnO 光学和表面性质的改变是 Li 掺杂的 ZnO 具有优异活性的另一个原因。