Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue by ZnO–reduced graphene oxide–carbon nanotube composites synthesized via microwave-assisted reaction

Abstract

ZnO–reduced graphene oxide (RGO)–carbon nanotube (CNT) composites were successfully synthesized via microwave-assisted reduction of a graphite oxide dispersion in zinc nitrate solution with a CNT suspension. Their photocatalytic performance in the degradation of methylene blue was investigated and the results show that the CNTs play an important role in the enhancement of the photocatalytic performance and the ZnO–RGO–CNT composite with 3.9 wt% CNTs achieves a maximum degradation efficiency of 96% under UV light irradiation for 260 min as compared with ZnO–RGO (88%) due to the increased light absorption and the reduced charge recombination with the introduction of CNTs.