Photocatalytic Activity of Graphene/ZnO Nanocomposite Fabricated by Two-step Electrochemical Route

Abstract

Graphene-Zinc oxide nanocomposite was synthesised by a novel, facile and environment-friendly two-step electrochemical route aimed at water purification by photocatalysis. The X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy demonstrate successful implementation of electrolytic route for the synthesis of graphene-metal oxide nanocomposite. UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence measurements were also used to characterise the samples. Based on this work, it is found that for the UV incident radiation, Graphene-ZnO nanocomposite shows an enhanced photocatalytic activity over ZnO. The photocatalytic activity of annealed graphene –ZnO was compared to a standard catalyst Degussa P25 TiO 2. The electrochemical synthesis technique is envisioned to open a reliable, cost-effective and environment sensitive method to fabricate graphene-metal oxide nanocomposites which could lead to various applications especially for photocatalysis. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]