From literature it is well known that ZnO is a wide and a
direct band gap material that has been shown to demonstrate
photocatalytic activities. We therefore, synthesized Mn-doped
ZnO nanocrystals for the first time using wet-chemical precipitation
techniques. The newly synthesized ZnO:Mn2+ has been
observed as an excellent photocatalyst under visible illumination.
ZnO:Mn2+ photocatalysts showed promising results for
degradation of organic dye with visible light irradiation when
used as suspended colloids. From the results we conclude that the
photocatalytic activities of doped ZnO nanoparticles are close
to 50 times higher than ZnO under visible light irradiation.
These preliminary results suggest that ZnO:Mn2+ nanoparticles
can be used as immobilized photocatalysts for water and
environmental detoxification from organic compounds, inorganic
compounds like arsenic and bacteria. The development
of such photocatalysts may be considered a breakthrough in
large-scale utilization of heterogeneous photocatalysis via visible
light to address water contamination and environmental
pollution.