Facile Synthesis and Characterization of GO/ZnS Nanocomposite with Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

ZnS nanowalls, microspheres and rice-shaped nanoparticles have been successfully grown on graphene oxide (GO) sheets by the hydrothermal method. The morphologies, structures, chemical compositions and optical properties of the as-synthesized GO/ZnS have been characterized by X-ray power diffraction, energy dispersive spectrometer, scanning electron microscope, Raman spectra, photoluminescence spectroscopy and ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy. It was found that the concentration of CTAB and the reaction temperature were important in the formation of GO/ZnS microstructures. The photocatalytic activity of the as-synthesized GO/ZnS was investigated through the photocatalytic degradation of textile dyeing waste. Results showed that the catalytic activity of the GO/ZnS porous spheres to methyl orange and methylene blue is higher than those of other samples. The degradation rates of methyl orange and methylene blue by porous spheres in 50 min were 97.6 and 97.1%, respectively. This is mainly attributed to the large specific surface area of GO/ZnS porous spheres and high separation efficiency between photogenerated electron and hole pairs.