Graphene Loaded ZrO₂ Nanocomposite for Antioxidant, Dye Removal, Electrochemical and Green Sensor Studies

Abstract

The present study demonstrates the preparation of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) incorporated zirconium oxide (ZrO2) nanocomposite by using reflux method. The ZrO2/rGO was confirmed by using UV‐Vis, FT‐IR, XRD, SEM, and EDAX techniques. In photocatalysis examination, the selected Rose Bengal (RB) was degraded effectively using ZrO2/rGO composite (76 %) at 180 minutes which follows first order kinetics. The antioxidant property against 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals was found to be 97 % activity with IC50 value of 314.53 mg/mL. Electrode reversibility (EO‐ER), diffusion coefficient (D) and capacitance of rGO, ZrO2 and ZrO2/rGO were measured by cyclic voltammetry method (CV). The electrochemical sensor detection of rGO, ZrO2 and ZrO2/rGO composite were assessed in 1 M NaCl electrolyte using tartaric acid and grape juice green sensors. The prepared electrode material plays a significant role for improving dye removal, electrochemical, antioxidant and sensor detection.