High performance magnetically separable graphene/zinc oxide nanocomposite
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Abstract
Magnetically separable graphene-Fe2O3/ZnO (G-Fe2O3/ZnO) nanocomposites were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method, using graphene oxide (GO) and Zn(OH)2 as the precursors of graphene and ZnO, respectively and commercially available iron oxide (Fe2O3) as a magnetic material. The nanocomposite materials were characterised by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Ultraviolet�visible spectroscopy (UV�vis) and Raman spectroscopy. Under natural sunlight, the nanocomposite exhibited excellent photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB). Photoluminescence spectra proved that the high photocatalytic performance of the nanocomposite resulted from the prevention of electron�hole recombination by the effective transfer of electrons between the semiconductors and the graphene. The nanocomposite maintained its ability to degrade MB efficiently, even after 5 cycles of photocatalysis.
Keywords
Graphene, Nanocomposites, Carbon materials, Photocatalysis, Magnetic
Divisions
PHYSICS
Publication Title
Materials Letters
Volume
93