UV-assisted synthesis of reduced graphene oxide zinc sulfide composite with enhanced photocatalytic activity

• GO was reduced by accepting photo induced electrons from ZnS under UV irradiation.
• The photocatalytic reduction of the GO sheets was done in the aqueous media.
• The reduction was confirmed from XRD, FTIR and Raman studies.
• RGO-ZnS composite exhibit superior photocatalytic performance compared to bare ZnS.

We report the ultra violet (UV) light assisted photocatalytic reduction of Graphene Oxide (GO) in aqueous suspension by accepting the photo induced electrons from Zinc Sulfide (ZnS) and simultaneous synthesis of RGO-ZnS composite. The XRD and FTIR studies authenticate the reduction of GO and synthesis of RGO-ZnS composite. The reduction is also confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The RGO-ZnS composite shows an enhancement of photo catalytic activity in compared to ZnS towards degradation of Rhodamine B under UV light irradiation. Enhanced photocatalytic degradation is attributed to the synergistic effect between favorable matching of the conduction band of ZnS to the work function of conductive RGO. The recycled use of RGO-ZnS composite does not noticeably decrease its photodegradation efficiency. The composite synthesized via photocatalytic reduction process not only provide us to control the reduction of GO but also opens up new avenues to synthesis photo sensitive RGO based composite materials for optoelectronic devising.

Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide