Synergistic enhancement of simazine degradation using ZnO nanosheets and ZnO/GO nanocomposites: A sol-gel synthesis approach

Abstract

This study aims to optimize the synergistic effect in photocatalytic processes by facilitating the accumulation of graphene oxide (GO) layers onto ZnO nanoparticles, thereby achieving close contact between the two materials, leveraging the high surface-to-volume ratio and efficient charge transport pathways inherent in ZnO nanosheets. The performance of ZnO nanosheets in the photocatalytic degradation of Simazine was investigated, with the aim of further enhancing the performance of the best-performing sample through GO decoration. Accordingly, ZnO nanosheets were obtained by the sol-gel method using different concentration of zinc acetate hexahydrate as a zinc source. According to the obtained results, it was observed that the sample prepared with a concentration of 0.44 M zinc precursor salt exhibited the best performance with a degradation rate of 67 %. In order to improve the performance of the sample prepared under this condition, graphene oxide (GO) was integrated into ZnO nanosheets to form a ZnO/GO nanocomposite structure. This composite structure achieved a photodegradation efficiency of 85 % for Simazine. The data obtained showed that the use of GO-based ZnO nanocomposites can improve charge separation, light absorption, charge transport and photo-oxidation of organic pollutants.