Dual templating fabrication of hierarchical porous three-dimensional ZnO/carbon nanocomposites for enhanced photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical activity

- Hierarchical porous ZnO/C nanocomposite at different length scales was synthesized via ice and micelle templation.
- The ZnO/C showed 2.2 and 7.0 times reactivity of the control for methylene blue degradation under UV and visible light.
- The sample exhibited the excellent photoelectrochemical performance with the photocurrent density of 1.5 mA cm−2 at the potential of 0.99 V.
- Ultrasonic-assisted photocatalytic reactivity enhancement is confirmed for ZnO/C nanocomposites.

Herein, a novel fabrication strategy to synthesize the ZnO/C nanocomposite with hierarchical porous structure was proposed with dual templating method that combines both ice and micelle templating. The composite material annealed at 900 °C showed the best photocatalytic reactivity for organic dye degradation compared with samples annealed at other temperatures, which is 2.2/7.0 times of the control ZnO + C sample under UV and visible light irradiation. The sample also showed superior photoelectrochemical performance while ultrasonic assisted photodegradation of methylene blue was also observed. This work demonstrates a novel and feasible approach for processing ZnO based photocatalysts with enhanced reactivity, which can be extended to the design of a broad series of functional metal oxide composites with high electrochemical performance for energy applications.

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