Nanostructured Fe,Co-Codoped MoO₃ Thin Films

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Photocatalysis

Background:

• Molybdenum oxide (MoO₃) is a promising material with diverse applications.
• Understanding the impact of doping on MoO₃ properties is crucial for material optimization.
• Spray pyrolysis is a scalable technique for thin film deposition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of Fe and Co codoping on MoO₃ thin films.
• To analyze the structural, morphological, optical, and photoluminescent properties of codoped MoO₃.
• To evaluate the photocatalytic activity of codoped MoO₃ for methylene blue degradation.

Main Methods:

• Spray pyrolysis for thin film synthesis.
• X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, TEM, EDAX for material characterization.
• Optical spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), and electropyroelectric methods for property analysis.

Main Results:

• Orthorhombic α-MoO₃ structure confirmed by XRD.
• Increased surface roughness and optical band gap observed with Fe and Co doping.
• Enhanced visible light emission attributed to increased chemisorbed oxygen.
• Significant improvement in methylene blue photodegradation efficiency (90% for MoO₃: Fe 2%-Co 1% vs. 35% for undoped MoO₃).

Conclusions:

• Fe and Co codoping effectively modifies the properties of MoO₃ thin films.
• Codoping enhances photocatalytic activity, making it suitable for environmental applications.
• The study provides insights into structure-property relationships in doped MoO₃.