N-doped graphene: a trustful additive concerning to the photocatalytic properties of ZnO

The bare and N-doped graphene (NrGO) incorporated ZnO samples were prepared by using hydrothermal method. The SEM images show the nearly homogenous dispersion of NrGO among ZnO nanoparticles. This coexistence of ZnO and NrGO was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The near-band-edge photoluminescence emissions of the samples are all started at about 380 nm (at 3.26 eV). Interestingly, we observed a slight improvement of electron capturing effect of graphene by doping of nitrogen in its infrastructure. This behavior can be appropriately used for the savior of photogenerated electrons on the surface of ZnO, as observed by the PL and photocatalytic results.