Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 21 No 4 (2017):
889 - 900
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17576/mjas-2017-2104-15
SYNTHESIS
OF ZnO/rGO NANOHYBRID FOR IMPROVED PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY
(Sintesis
Nanohibrid ZnO/rGO Untuk Mempertingkatkan Aktiviti Fotopemangkinan)
Marilyn
Yuen Sok Wen1, Abdul Halim Abdullah1,2*, Lim Hong Ngee1
¹Department
of Chemistry, Faculty of Science
2Materials Science and
Characterization Lab., Institute of Advanced Technology
Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400
UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
*Corresponding
author: halim@upm.edu.my
Received: 20
September 2016; Accepted: 16 May 2017
Abstract
Nanohybrids of zinc oxide/reduced
graphene oxide (ZnO/rGO) with varying graphene oxide content were prepared via
precipitation and were subsequently utilised in the photodegradation of methyl
orange (MO) under UV light irradiation. The
prepared photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD),
Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Transmission Electron
Microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The surface area and the band gap
energy of the photocatalysts were determined by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller
method and UV-visible spectroscopic analysis. The ZnO/rGO nanohybrids produced
had smaller particle sizes and lower band gap energy than that of ZnO. All the ZnO/rGO nanohybrids demonstrated better
photocatalytic efficiency in the photodegradation of MO compared to ZnO. ZnO/rGO10
exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity with a rate constant that was
four times higher than pure ZnO and about 40%
enhancement in the photocatalytic activity for
the removal of methyl orange within 3 hours. The enhanced photocatalytic
performance of the ZnO/rGO photocatalysts was due to the efficient transfer of
photogenerated electrons to the graphene sheet that inhibited the recombination
of electron-hole pairs.
Keywords:
zinc
oxide, reduced graphene oxide, nanohybrid,
precipitation method, photocatalysis
Abstrak
Nanohibrid zink oksida/grafin oksida terturun (ZnO/rGO)
dengan kandungan grafin oksida yang berbeza telah disediakan melalui kaedah
pemendakan dan seterusnya digunakan dalam fotodegradasi metil jingga (MO) di
bawah sinaran cahaya UV. Fotopemangkin yang disediakan telah dicirikan dengan
menggunakan pembelauan sinar-X (XRD), mikroskopi pengimbasan elektron (FESEM),
mikroskopi transmisi elekron (TEM) dan spektroskopi Raman. Luas permukaan dan
tenaga jurang jalur fotomangkin telah ditentukan menggunakan kaedah Brunauer-Emmett-Teller
dan analisis spektroskopi UV-sinar nampak. Nanohibrid ZnO/rGO yang terhasil
mempunyai saiz zarah yang lebih kecil dan tenaga jurang jalur yang lebih rendah
berbanding dengan ZnO. Nanohibrid ZnO/rGO mempamerkan kecekapan fotopemangkinan
yang lebih tinggi dalam fotodegradasi MO berbanding dengan ZnO. ZnO/rGO10
mencatatkan aktiviti fotopemangkinan yang tertinggi dengan pemalar kadar empat
kali ganda lebih tinggi daripada ZnO dan peningkatan 40% dalam aktiviti
fotopemangkinan degradasi metil jingga dalam masa 3 jam. Peningkatan prestasi
fotopemangkinan pemangkin ZnO/rGO adalah disebabkan oleh kecekapan pemindahan
fotojanaan elektron ke lembaran grafin yang seterusnya menghalang
penggabungan semula pasangan elektron-lubang.
Kata kunci: zink oksida, grafin oksida terturun, nanohibrid, kaedah pemendakan, fotopemangkinan
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