Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Preparation of 3D urchin-like RGO/ZnO and its photocatalytic activity

  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Three-dimensional urchin-like RGO/ZnO was successfully prepared for the first time by using a secondary hydrothermal method. The morphologies and hexagonal wurtzite structure of the prepared RGO/ZnO were characterized by SEM, TEM, and XRD. SEM and TEM results showed that the composite possessed a micro/nano size of about 2–4 μm, which is conducive to recycling after photocatalysis. Raman and XPS tests demonstrated that GO was reduced to RGO during the secondary hydrothermal process and that planar heterojunction occurred. Further investigation of UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra and RhB light degradation showed that light absorption was extended to the Vis range and even the near-infrared region after ZnO compounded with RGO, rendering the composite a viable visible-light-driven photocatalyst. Among the tested materials, the composite with 1.5 wt% RGO had the strongest integrated absorbance intensity; this material increased photocatalytic efficiency by 64.57% compared with the 3D urchin-like ZnO. Overall, the 3D urchin-like RGO/ZnO composite is an ideal visible-light-driven photocatalyst. Given the high surface area, several electronic transmission channels, large spectral response range, and p-type conductivity of RGO, the 3D urchin-like RGO/ZnO composite is expected to be applied in photovoltaic and even lithium/sodium-ion batteries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. H.B. Kim, Morphology-tunable synthesis of ZnO microstructures under microwave irradiation: formation mechanisms and photocatalytic activity. CrystEngComm 18(6), B21–B22 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. S. Kumar, H.J. Lee, T.H. Yoon et al., Morphological control over ZnO nanostructures from self-emulsion polymerization. Cryst. Growth Des. 16, 3905–3911 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. S. Baruah, C. Thanachayanont, J. Dutta, Growth of ZnO nanowires on nonwoven polyethylene fibers. Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater. 9, 025009 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. L. Wang, X. Wang, S. Mao et al., Strongly enhanced ultraviolet emission of an Au@ SiO2/ZnO plasmonic hybrid nanostructure. Nanoscale 8(7), 4030–4036 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. G. Zhang, S. Hou, H. Zhang et al., High-performance and ultra-stable lithium-ion batteries based on MOF-derived ZnO@ ZnO quantum dots/C core–shell nanorod arrays on a carbon cloth anode. Adv. Mater. 27(14), 2400–2405 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. S. Cui, Z. Dai, Q. Tian et al., Wetting properties and SERS applications of ZnO/Ag nanowire arrays patterned by screen-printing method. J. Mater. Chem. C 4, 6371–6379 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. L. Yang, Y. Zhou, J. Lu et al., Controllable preparation of 2D and 3D ZnO micro-nanostructures and their photoelectric conversion efficiency. J. Mater. Sci: Mater. Electron. 27(2), 1693–1699 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  8. J. Cui, L. Shi, T. Xie et al., UV-light illumination room temperature HCHO gas-sensing mechanism of ZnO with different nanostructures. Sens. Actuators B 227, 220–226 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. J. Liu, H. Huang, H. Zhao et al., Enhanced gas sensitivity and selectivity on aperture-controllable 3D interconnected macroesoporous ZnO nanostructures. ACS Appl Mater. Interfaces 8(13), 8583–8590 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. S.H. Shin, Y.H. Kwon, M.H. Lee et al., A vanadium-doped ZnO nanosheets–polymer composite for flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators. Nanoscale 8(3), 1314–1321 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Z. Bai, X. Yan, Y. Li et al., 3D-branched ZnO/CdS nanowire arrays for solar water splitting and the service safety research. Adv. Energy Mater. 6(3) (2016)

  12. Y. Wang, H.B. Fang, R.Q. Ye et al., Functionalization of ZnO aggregate films via iodine-doping and TiO2 decorating for enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity and stability. RSC Adv. 6(29), 24430–24437 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. X. Song, Y. Liu, Y. Zheng et al., Synthesis of butterfly-like ZnO nanostructures and study of their self-reducing ability toward Au3+ ions for enhanced photocatalytic efficiency. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 18(6), 4577–4584 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. P. Cheng, Y. Wang, L. Xu et al., 3D TiO2/ZnO composite nanospheres as an excellent electron transport anode for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells. RSC Adv. 6(56), 51320–51326 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. J. You, L. Meng, T.B. Song et al., Improved air stability of perovskite solar cells via solution-processed metal oxide transport layers. Nat. Nanotechnol. 11(1), 75–81 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. E. Quartarone, V. Dall’Asta, A. Resmini et al., Graphite-coated ZnO nanosheets as high-capacity, highly stable, and binder-free anodes for lithium-ion batteries. J. Power Sources 320, 314–321 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. B. Han, X. Liu, X. Xing et al., A high response butanol gas sensor based on ZnO hollow spheres. Sens. Actuators B 237, 423–430 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Y. Miao, H. Zhang, S. Yuan et al., Preparation of flower-like ZnO architectures assembled with nanosheets for enhanced photocatalytic activity. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 462, 9–18 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. M.Y. Hsieh, F.I. Lai, W.C. Chen et al., Realizing omnidirectional light harvesting by employing hierarchical architecture for dye sensitized solar cells. Nanoscale 8(10), 5478–5487 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Y.K. Mishra, G. Modi, V. Cretu et al., Direct growth of freestanding ZnO tetrapod networks for multifunctional applications in photocatalysis, UV photodetection, and gas sensing. ACS Appl Mater. Interfaces 7(26), 14303–14316 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. W. Li, S. Gao, L. Li et al., Hydrothermal synthesis of a 3D double-sided comb-like ZnO nanostructure and its growth mechanism analysis. Chem. Commun. 52, 8231–8234 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. D. He, X. Sheng, J. Yang et al., \([10\overline{10}]\) Oriented multichannel ZnO nanowire arrays with enhanced optoelectronic device performance. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 136(48), 16772–16775 (2014)

  23. N.T. Khoa, S.W. Kim, D.H. Yoo et al., Fabrication of Au/graphene-wrapped ZnO-nanoparticle-assembled hollow spheres with effective photoinduced charge transfer for photocatalysis. ACS Appl Mater. Interfaces 7(6), 3524–3531 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. W. Liu, J. Cai, Z. Li, Self-assembly of semiconductor nanoparticles/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite aerogels for enhanced photocatalytic performance and facile recycling in aqueous photocatalysis. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 3(2), 277–282 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. X. Men, H. Chen, K. Chang et al., Three-dimensional free-standing ZnO/graphene composite foam for photocurrent generation and photocatalytic activity. Appl. Catal. B 187, 367–374 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. S. Xu, L. Fu, T.S.H. Pham et al., Preparation of ZnO flower/reduced graphene oxide composite with enhanced photocatalytic performance under sunlight. Ceram. Int. 41(3), 4007–4013 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. A.R. Marlinda, N.M. Huang, M.R. Muhamad et al., Highly efficient preparation of ZnO nanorods decorated reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites. Mater. Lett. 80, 9–12 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. X. Zhang, J. Dong, X. Qian et al., One-pot synthesis of an RGO/ZnO nanocomposite on zinc foil and its excellent performance for the nonenzymatic sensing of xanthine. Sens. Actuators B 221, 528–536 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. X. Chen, H. Guo, T. Wang et al., In-situ fabrication of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/ZnO heterostructure: surface functional groups induced electrical properties. Electrochim. Acta 196, 558–564 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. X.D. Tang, H.Q. Ye, H.X. Hu, Sulfurization synthesis and photocatalytic activity of oxysulfide La3NbS2O5. Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc. China 23, 2644–2649 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. W. Kang, X. Jimeng et al., The effects of ZnO morphology on photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO/RGO nanocomposites. Appl. Surf. Sci. 360, 270–275 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. P. Chhetri, K.K. Barakoti, M.A. Alpuche-Aviles, Control of carrier recombination on ZnO nanowires photoelectrochemistry. J. Phys. Chem. C 119, 1506–1516 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. S.U. Awan, S.K. Hasanain, M. Aftab, Influence of Li1+ co-doping defects on luminescence and bandgap narrowing of ZnO:Co2+ nanoparticles due to band tailing effects. J. Lumin. 172, 231–242 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Y. Zhou, Y. Wu, Y. Li et al., The synthesis of 3D urchin-like TiO2-reduced graphene micro/nano structure composite and its enhanced photocatalytic properties. Ceram. Int. 42, 12482–12489 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. A.L. Palma, L. Cin, S. Pescetelli et al., Reduced graphene oxide as efficient and stable hole transporting material in mesoscopic perovskite solar cells. Nano Energy 22, 349–360 (2016)

  36. U. Siemon, D. Bahnemann, J.J. Testa et al., Heterogeneous photocatalytic reactions comparing TiO2 and Pt/TiO2. J. Photochem. Photobiol. A 148(1), 247–255 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21541003, 21671026) and Hunan Collaborative Innovation Center of Environmental and Energy Photocatalysis. The authors are also grateful to the aid provided by the Science and Technology Innovative Research Team in Higher Educational Institutions of Hunan Province.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha, 410114, China

    Yi Zhou, Dandan Li, Luyue Yang, Chaocheng Li, Yuhuan Liu & Jun Lu

  2. Hunan Key Laboratory of Applied Environmental Photocatalysis, Changsha University, Changsha, 410022, China

    Yutang Wang

Authors
  1. Yi Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dandan Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Luyue Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chaocheng Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yuhuan Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jun Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Yutang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yi Zhou.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhou, Y., Li, D., Yang, L. et al. Preparation of 3D urchin-like RGO/ZnO and its photocatalytic activity. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 28, 7935–7942 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-017-6495-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-017-6495-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation