Synthesis, structural and photocatalytic properties of ZnO-CuO, ZnO-Graphene and ZnO-CuO-Graphene nanocomposites

ZnO-Graphene, ZnO-CuO, and ZnO-CuO-graphene nanocomposites were effectively created using the chemical co-precipitation approach. The synergistic effects of ZnO, CuO, and graphene together are responsible for this better performance. After 180 min, ZnO-CuO-Graphene exposed to visible light from the sun destroyed 81 % of the MB organic pollutant. PL spectroscopy showed low intensity, indicating decreased electron-hole recombination in ZnO-CuO-Graphene. Industrial wastes particularly organic dyes has been a matter of great challenge in the rapid growing industrial technologies. To address this issue nanocomposites of ZnO-Graphene, ZnO-CuO and ZnO-CuO-graphene were efficiently developed via chemical co-precipitation method and inestigated its photocatalytic properties for efficient waste water treatment in the degradation of methylene blue (MB) as an indicator. These nanocomposites were fully characterized by numerous advanced characterization techniques i.e. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–visible spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) Spectroscopy, and Photoluminescence (PL). The SEM image of ZnO-CuO-Graphene nanocomposite revealed flower-like morphology while the presence of Zn, Cu, O, and C were confirmed by EDX spectroscopy. Low PL intensity of ZnO-CuO-Graphene nanocomposite indicates low electron-hole recombination indicating it is a potential photocatalyst for photocatalysis application. Among all nanocomposites, ZnO-CuO-Graphene nanocomposite possesses greater photocatalytic activity after 180 min while exposed to solar light i.e. 81 % degradation of MB dye copared to 74 % and 77 % degradation by ZnO-G and ZnO-CuO nancomposites respectively. The incremental photocatalytic efficiency of the ZnO-CuO-Graphene nanocomposite is predominantly due to the larger active surface area resulting from the incorporation of Graphene.