Solid-state synthesis of ZnO nanorods coupled with reduced graphene oxide for photocatalytic application

ZnO is an excellent semiconductor material for photocatalytic application. To overcome the photocorrosion of ZnO and improve its stability, nanorods (NRs) structured ZnO is prepared by an environment-friendly solid state synthesis method, and the composite of ZnO with different mass ratio of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) are obtained via a hydrothermal reaction. According to the photocatalytic results, 5% RGO composited with ZnO NRs degrades the methylene orange solution completely (98%) in 50 min under UV light irradiation, whereas bare ZnO NRs just degrade 40.9%. The transient photocurrent responses and electronical impedance spectroscopy tests are carried out to illustrate the mechanism of RGO in the nanocomposite for the enhancement of the photocatalytic performance. This composite of ZnO/RGO has demonstrated a great potential for high efficient and stable photocatalytic application.