Preparation and photocatalytic performance of ZnO/carbon composites for organic dyes degradation

ZnO/carbon composites were prepared via hydrothermal method and carbonization using zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O) and glucose (C 6 H 12 O 6 ) as zinc and carbon source, and ammonia as precipitation agent. The effects of glucose addition amount on the morphology and structure of ZnO/carbon composites were discussed. The chemical composition, morphology and structures of ZnO/carbon composites were characterized by XRD, FESEM, TG and Raman spectroscopy. The flower-like ZnO/carbon nanoparticle composites were obtained after carbonization at 600 °C for 2 h. The carbon content in ZnO/carbon composites increased with the increase of glucose, and the carbon content reached 28.8% when the glucose was 1.0 g. As the carbon content increases, carbon nanoparticles change from irregular particles to spherical particles, while the degree of graphitization of carbon in ZnO/carbon composites has not significant change. The photocatalytic performances of ZnO/carbon composites were studied by degradation of organic dye [rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB)] under UV light irradiation, and the maximum degradation rate of RhB and MB reached 93.3% and 97.2%, respectively.