Photocatalytic activity of zinc oxide – graphene oxide composites

Abstract

Recently, the use of various dyes in the cellulose, textile, plastics and rubber industries has resulted in severe toxic and dye contamination of wastewater. These toxic dyes are not biodegradable and have a detrimental effect on the environment, blocking sunlight and reducing photosynthesis. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop a low-cost effective technology for purifying wastewater from harmful organic pollutants. In this context, photocatalysis is an advanced, environmentally friendly oxidation process for wastewater treatment. Recent studies have shown that the use of semiconductor photocatalytically active materials with a wide band gap is an effective method for the decomposition of organic pollutants in aqueous solutions. In this work, a low-cost technology for the synthesis of composite semiconductor zinc oxide / graphene oxide (ZnO / GO) materials by chemical deposition from an aqueous solution has been developed. The morphology, structural and photoluminescent properties of the synthesized ZnO/GO samples with different graphene oxide concentration have been studied. The research of the photocatalytic activity of synthesized zinc oxide – graphene oxide composite materials is carried out by observing an aqueous solution of rhodamine B dye degradation under ultraviolet illumination.

Morphology Effects on Electro- and Photo-Catalytic Properties of Zinc Oxide Nanostructures

“…In recent decades, oxide semiconductors have attracted considerable attention as photocatalysts for the photodegradation of organic pollutants due to their high availability, low toxicity, and good thermal and chemical stability [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Zinc oxide (ZnO) is widely used as an efficient and inexpensive semiconductor photocatalyst for the decomposition of most organic chemicals and energy applications [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. The high efficiency is due to the fact that ZnO has a high exciton binding energy at room temperature, equal to 60 meV and high electrical conductivity (~10 2 Ω −1 cm −1 ) [ 19 ].…”