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Investigation on synergistic effect of rGO and carbon quantum dots-embedded ZnO hollow spheres for improved photocatalytic aqueous pollutant removal process

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Abstract

A series of ternary ZnO hollow sphere/carbon quantum dots/reduced graphene oxide (ZnO/CQDs/r-GO) nanocomposites were successfully prepared via solvothermal technique in the presence of the polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) as a solvent. The structural details of as-prepared ZnO/CQDs/r-GO nanocomposites were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction analysis. The morphological properties of the composite were analyzed using field emission scanning microscopy (FE-SEM). The visible light absorption ability of the as-prepared pristine and ternary nanocomposites was examined using UV–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometry. The photocatalytic activity of ZnO, ZnO/CQDs, ZnO/r-GO, and ZnO/CQDs/r-GO nanostructures were evaluated for the degradation of organic pollutants such as methylene orange (MO), rhodamine B (RhB), and methylene blue (MB). The different composites with various amounts of reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized to enhance photocatalytic activity. The ZnO/CQDs/r-GO composites showed excellent potential for photocurrent generation compared with ZnO, ZnO/CQDs and ZnO/r-GO under-stimulated sunlight. The effect of various parameters such as the effect of reaction temperature, catalyst concentration, pH, and concentration of MB dye has been also studied. The photo-assisted catalytic degradation properties of the catalyst after five cycles exhibit high stability.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by DST-SERB, India (File No. EMR/2017/001238) and The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for funding this study through the Small Research Group Project under Grant Number R.G.P. 1/306/1442.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Government Arts College (Autonomous), Salem, Tamil Nadu, India

    N. Elumalai & P. Ramu

  2. Department of Physics, Periyar University, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India

    N. Elumalai, S. Prabhu, S. Shanavas & R. Ramesh

  3. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha, 61413, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    M. Selvaraj

  4. Nanotechnology Research Centre, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kanchepuram, Tamil Nadu, India

    M. Navaneethan

  5. Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kanchepuram, Tamil Nadu, India

    M. Navaneethan & S. Harish

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Elumalai, N., Prabhu, S., Selvaraj, M. et al. Investigation on synergistic effect of rGO and carbon quantum dots-embedded ZnO hollow spheres for improved photocatalytic aqueous pollutant removal process. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 32, 28633–28647 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-07239-w

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