Abstract
An efficient photocatalyst, ZnO–single-walled carbon nanotube (ZnO–SWCNT) nanocomposite was successfully fabricated through a straightforward one-pot–two-chemical recrystallization technique followed by thermal decomposition. The photocatalytic efficiency of the prepared ZnO–SWCNT composite was investigated by assessing the degradation of a persistent water-pollutant dye (methylene blue, MB) under visible-light irradiation. We found that the synthesized photocatalyst is an effective and recyclable agent for the decomposition of an MB solution. Its photocatalytic performance was substantially better than that of pristine ZnO nanorods or pristine SWCNTs. The reusability of the photocatalyst was also examined, affirming that it could be used repeatedly for five cycles without conspicuous loss of morphology or catalytic performance.
Highlights
Toxic and nonbiodegradable organic contaminants such as dyes, phenoxyanilines, phenols, and their derivatives are commonly present in industrial effluents [1]
Each SWCNT is surrounded by several Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods
A natural-sunlight-driven, highly efficient ZnO–SWCNT photocatalyst was synthesized via a one-pot recrystallization method followed by thermal decomposition
Summary
Toxic and nonbiodegradable organic contaminants such as dyes, phenoxyanilines, phenols, and their derivatives are commonly present in industrial effluents [1]. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibit several interesting properties, including high thermal and electrical conductivities, large electron-storage capacity, and extremely high tensile strengths They can form uniform composites with nanosized semiconductor metal oxides [13,14,15]. ZnO) and CNTs, the CNTs act as excellent electron acceptors or electron transport materials and strongly promote the conduction of photogenerated electrons, resulting in enhanced photocatalytic activity. This phenomenon suppresses the likelihood of photogenerated electron–hole pairs recombining and improves the catalytic efficiency [17,23,24]. We reused the photocatalyst times withoutalso notable degradation in performance, photocatalytic proficiency of the prepared nanocomposite at the optimum values of these trivial change in its morphology as a result of repeated handling was observed. parameters
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