High Photocatalytic Activity of ZnO−Carbon Nanofiber Heteroarchitectures

Abstract

One-dimensional ZnO-carbon nanofibers (CNFs) heteroarchitectures with high photocatalytic activity have been successfully obtained by a simple combination of electrospinning technique and hydrothermal process. The as-obtained products were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and IR spectrum. The results revealed that the secondary ZnO nanostructures were successfully grown on the primary CNFs substrates without aggregation. And, the coverage density of ZnO nanoparticles coating on the surface of the CNFs could be controlled by simply adjusting the mass ratio of zinc acetate to CNFs in the precursor during the hydrothermal process for the fabrication of ZnO-CNFs heterostructures. The obtained ZnO-CNFs heteroarchitectures showed high photocatalytic property to degrade rhodamine B (RB) because of the formation of heteroarchitectures, which might improve the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. Moreover, the ZnO-CNFs heteroarchitectures could be easily recycled without the decrease in photocatalytic activity due to their one-dimensional nanostructural property.

Composition optimization of ZnO-based photocatalyst arrays by scanning electrochemical microscopy and the characterization of efficient photocatalysts

“…The binding energy distance between Zn 2p3/2 and Zn 2p1/2 is 23.0 eV, which indicates that the Zn species mainly exist in the chemical state of Zn 2þ . The data matches the bonding energy of ZneO bonds [44]. The addition of Cd does not affect the chemical bonding of ZneO in Zn 0.8 Cd 0.2 O, which implies that there is no substitution of Cd 2þ into the Zn-site.…”

Electrospun Metal Oxide/Carbon Nanofiber Composite Electrode for Supercapacitor Application

“…The NFs were activated at 800 ℃ by supplying steam in a nitrogen carrier gas. The activated samples were termed ACNF, Zn (20) The results revealed the simultaneous presence of ZnO and the ACNF matrix [75].…”

Hierarchical porous carbon nanofibers via electrospinning

“…Carbon/Ag nanoparticles composite nanofibers have also shown high catalytic activity in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol with NaBH 4 which might be attributed to the high surface areas of Ag nanoparticles loaded on the CNFs and the synergistic effect on delivery of electrons between Ag nanoparticles and CNFs [75]. One dimensional ZnO/CNFs with high photocatalytic activity were successfully prepared to degrade organic pollutants under UV light irradiation [76]. It was demonstrated that CNFs with surface-coated ZnO exhibited higher photocatalytic property than pure ZnO for the degradation of Rhodamine B.…”