Graphene-zinc oxide nanorod nanocomposite as photocatalyst for enhanced degradation of dyes under UV light irradiation

Nanocomposite of zinc oxide nanorods(ZnONR) and reduced graphene(RGO) oxide has been prepared and characterized by XRD, TEM, UV-vis and spectroflurometric techniques. The nanocomposite material is found to be an efficient photocatalyst for degradation methylene blue (MB), methyl orange(MO) and their mixture at room temperature. The electron-hole pair recombination in the prepared material has been decreased as observed from photoluminescence(PL) spectral study. The excitation of both ZnONR and methylene blue occurs during photodegradation and the generated electrons are transferred to the RGO. The oxidation of dyes occurs by path I and path II as a result excitation of MB and ZnONR respectively and these electrons are transfereed to the RGO. The excitation of MB during leads to the photodegradation MO in absence of composite through path I as evidenced by its PL spectra. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.