Photocatalytic Activity of One-Pot Synthesized Reduced Graphene Oxide – Zinc Oxide Nanocomposites

Abstract

In this research, reduced graphene oxide/zinc oxide nanocomposites (rGO/ZnO) were synthesized at different pHs (9, 10, 11 and 12) by using one-pot hydrothermal bath method., The obtained nanocomposites characterized by using X-ray diffractometer, Fourier transform infrared, Raman, scanning electronic microscope and diffuse reflection spectroscopy techniques. Photocatalytic activity of nanocomposites were evaluated by monitoring the photodegradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in water exposed to ultraviolet and visible light irradiation. The morphological and structural results have been shown that at pHs of 9 and 10, the ZnO nearly aggregated nanoparticle are crystalized, while at higher pHs (11 and 12), the preferential growth of ZnO in the form of nanorods is seen. Comparative studies on photocatalytic performance of the nanocomposites shows that ZnO nanorods have better photocatalytic activities than the others.