Graphene oxide-based zirconium oxide nanocomposite for enhanced visible light-driven photocatalytic activity

• Published in: Research on chemical intermediates 2019-04, Vol.45 (4), p.1689-1705
• Main Authors: Das, Ranjita S., Warkhade, Swapnil K., Kumar, Anupama, Wankhade, Atul V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Catalysis; Catalytic activity; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Dyes; Graphene; Inorganic Chemistry; Light irradiation; Methylene blue; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Photocatalysis; Photocatalysts; Photodegradation; Physical Chemistry; Rhodamine; Synthesis; Thermal stability; Zirconium dioxide; Zirconium oxides
• ISSN: 0922-6168; 1568-5675
• DOI: 10.1007/s11164-018-3699-z

In the present investigation, an efficient visible light-active, graphene oxide-based zirconium oxide nanocomposite (GO–ZrO 2 ) has been synthesized by co-precipitation method. The synthesized photocatalyst was characterized by XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM, EDS, TEM, TGA, PL, UV-DRS and BET surface area analysis. The characterization results illustrate the homogeneous dispersion of ZrO 2 nanoparticles in the GO–ZrO 2 nanocomposite with excellent harmony between GO and ZrO 2 nanoparticles. The photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized GO–ZrO 2 nanocomposite was evaluated by photodegradation of hazardous, water-soluble rhodamine B and methylene blue dyes under visible light irradiation. The 90% photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B dye (with initial conc. 30 mg/L) was observed in 105 min of visible light irradiation, while 99.23% of methylene blue (with initial conc. 100 mg/L) dyes degradation was observed in just 60 min using 25 mg/100 ml dose of GO–ZrO 2 nanocomposite as a photocatalyst. The mechanistic investigation using scavengers suggest that the superoxide (O 2 ·− ) is the most reactive species involved in the photodegradation of organic dyes. The synthesized photocatalyst GO–ZrO 2 nanocomposite also exhibits excellent thermal stability and reusability.