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Improved hydrogen evolution and interesting luminescence properties of rare Earth ion-doped ZnS nanoparticles

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Abstract

Rare Earth-doped nanocrystalline semiconductor compounds can create novel pathways to enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction. In this study, terbium-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated using an economical and facile co-precipitation method. STEM results revealed that the synthesized samples were composed of NPs with a uniform size distribution. The spatial distribution images showed that terbium ions were randomly distributed in the ZnS matrix with the anticipated stoichiometry. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the presence of NPs. Terbium doping decreased the optical band gap of the ZnS NPs. Terbium-induced emission peaks were recognized at 465, 490, 545, 587, and 621 nm, demonstrating that the dopant ions were included in the parent matrix. The terbium (2 at%)-doped ZnS NPs exhibited an enhanced hydrogen evolution capability under simulated solar light. Therefore, the results of this study heavily suggest that the terbium-doped ZnS NPs are beneficial candidates for hydrogen gas generation. This study is the first to investigate the evolution of H2 using the ZnS:Tb system.

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All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation Korea funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Fusion Research (Grant No: 20201G1A1014959 and NRF-2022R1I1A1A01064248). This work was supported by the Technology development Program (S3038568) funded by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS, Korea).

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Author notes

  1. S. Ramu and Peddathimula Puneetha have contributed equally to this study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronic Engineering, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, 25457, South Korea

    S. Ramu, B. Poornaprakash, Jooyoung Jeon, Min-Woo Kwon & Y. L. Kim

  2. Department of Robotics and Intelligent Machine Engineering/College of Mechanical and IT Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 38541, South Korea

    Peddathimula Puneetha & Dong-Yeon Lee

  3. Advanced Material Research Center, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi, 39177, South Korea

    M. Siva Pratap Reddy

  4. National Water and Energy Center, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, 15551, UAE

    Sambasivam Sangaraju

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Ramu, S., Puneetha, P., Reddy, M.S.P. et al. Improved hydrogen evolution and interesting luminescence properties of rare Earth ion-doped ZnS nanoparticles. Appl. Phys. A 129, 106 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-023-06396-5

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