Day-Light Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Using Graphene/ZnO Nanocomposite

Abstract

In this paper, novel graphene/ZnO nanocomposites were produced for day-light photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB). Nanocomposites were prepared as to be ZnO (100 - x)% - x % Graphene nanocomposite (x = 0, 5, 10 and 15). For x = 10 and 15, nanocomposite films are transparent and also have electrical resistance. For day-light photocatalytic experiments, 5 ppm MB were prepared and masses of nanocomposite were selected as m = 0.03 g and m = 0.05 g. ZnO is a photocatalytic material. Our results show that graphene/ZnO nanocomposite is a powerful candidate for the high performance day-light photocatalytic applications. One another important finding is related with graphene concentration. Graphene concentration changed the photocatalytic mechanism of un-doped ZnO. For a nanocomposite of m = 0.03 g, the reaction rates of day-light photodegradation were bigger than that of the nanocomposite of m = 0.05 g for x = 10 and 15. But, the nanocomposite of m = 0.05 g for x = 10 and 15 were reached and passed the lower mass nanocomposite for MB degradation at long duration experiments. Graphene nanocomposites are proper and remarkable materials for the lowest mass day-light photodegradation of MB.