Effect of pH on the growth and ibuprofen photocatalytic response of Zn1 − xCoxO compound synthesized by the co-precipitation method

Herein, we have investigated the influence of pH on the structural, optical, morphological properties and ibuprofen photocatalytic response of Co-doped ZnO structures synthesized by co-precipitation method. It has been demonstrated that, the growth of ZnO structures were influenced by the pH, while the Co 2+ ions substitution in the interstitial position of host lattice caused an increase in the lattice constants. The samples obtained at pH = 7 showed spherical nanoparticles that self-assemble to form hexagonal disk-like structures, while nanorods were observed for samples synthesized at pH = 10 and 13. Structural defects were quantified from the photoluminescence spectra, with predominance for single and doubly ionized oxygen vacancies. These defects, the pH and dopant, contributed to the optical band gap variations. Finally, the photocatalytic response using Ibuprofen drug under UV irradiation was incremented in the presence of H 2 O 2 , suggesting that Co-doped ZnO exhibit improvements in the photocatalytic response under optimized conditions. Graphical abstract