Photocatalytic evaluation of disperse purple dye using Polyvinylpyrrolidone capped bare and Cu+2/Fe+3 codoped ZnO nano catalysts

[Display omitted] •Bare and Cu+2/Fe+3 codoped ZnO nanoparticles were fabricated by using facile Polyol method.•The as-fabricated nanoparticles were highly crystalline with precise geometry and suitable band gap for absorption in UV/Vis region of spectrum.•Disperse purple dye was used to study the photocatalytic performance of as-fabricated nanocatalysts.•The mechanism and kinetics were explored and found to be Pseudo-first order reaction. Polyvinylpyrrolidone capped bare zinc oxide and codoped with cupric and ferric ions, have been fabricated by a facile polyol reduction method with ethylene glycol. The as-fabricated nanoparticles were calcinated to control their size and morphology. The fabricated nanoparticles were characterized using various techniques including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion X-rays, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared Spectroscopy. The results showed phase pure nanoparticles with wurtzite zinc oxide structure, and a blue shift in absorbance spectrum when zinc oxide was codoped with cupric and ferric ions. The study examined the degradation rate of disperse purple dye using bare and codoped zinc oxide nanoparticles in the solar region. Codoped nanocatalysts showed superior efficiency compared to bare zinc oxide. The kinetic analysis of the dye was conducted, revealing that the degradation of the dye followed a pseudo-first-order kinetics pattern. Furthermore, about 99 % degradation of the dye solution in 110 min by codoped zinc oxide as compared to bare zinc oxide (84 %) under solar light suggests Cu+2/Fe+3 codoped zinc oxide is an emerging tool for environmental remediation.