Zinc oxide (ZnO), as a semiconducting oxide, has potential as a photocatalyst due to some of the properties it possesses, including a large excitation energy, deep violet/borderline ultraviolet (UV) absorption at room temperature, and good photocatalytic activity. However, the main issue with using ZnO as a photocatalyst is that it has a rapid rate for the recombination of electron-hole pairs. Since the photoactivity of a catalyst is determined by its ability to create photogenerated electron-hole pairs, having a fast recombination rate can interfere with the reaction process. This issue could potentially be fixed by combining the ZnO with graphene, a carbon-based material. The conjugated structure of graphene enables the separation of charges in the photocatalytic process, so by combining ZnO and graphene the recombination rate could possibly be slowed while retaining the beneficial properties of both materials. This project analyzes the effects of ZnO/graphene nanocomposites on the degradation process of methylene blue dye. This dye breaks down when exposed to solar light, and so the photocatalytic properties of the nanocomposites can be studied by examining how they influence the speed of the reaction process.
Hybrid materials of zinc (II) oxide (ZnO) nanocrystals and graphene are of current interest due to their cheap, Earth-abundant composition, low toxicity, and varied applications in photocatalysis, sensing, and electronics among others. We have developed a novel methodology for the synthesis of such materials utilizing the thermal decomposition of zinc (II) oxalate in solid-state solution with graphene nanoplatelets. Although the procedure simply involves precursor mixing and heating, electronic interaction between the ZnO and graphitic phases is spectroscopically observed in the hybrid materialbeyond that of a homogeneous mixture of ZnO and graphene-via powder XRD, XPS, and ATR-IR spectroscopy. The synthetic method employed can be easily tuned for the desired hybrid product stoichiometry, and is easily industrially scalable with minimal chemical waste products.
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