TY - JOUR A1 - Nguyen, V. Q. A1 - Baynosa, M. L. A1 - Nguyen, V. H. A1 - Tuma, Dirk A1 - Lee, Y. R. A1 - Shim, J.-J. T1 - Solvent-driven morphology-controlled synthesis of highly efficient long-life ZnO/graphene nanocomposite photocatalysts for the practical degradation of organic wastewater under solar light JF - Applied Surface Science N2 - Metal oxide/graphene photocatalysts have been attracting considerable attention in solving environmental pollution problems because of the limitations of the semiconductor-based photocatalysts. In this study, highly efficient and inexpensive zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles with three different morphologies, such as nanospheres, nanodisks, and nanorods, anchored on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) were synthesized in solvent mixtures with different ethanol to water ratios. Among the three morphologies, the nanospherical ZnO/RGO (sZG) Composite exhibited the highest methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B removal efficiencies at 99% and 98%, respectively, after only 60 min under low-power (40 W) ultraviolet irradiation at a low catalyst loading of 0.1 g L−1. This nanocomposite also showed excellent photocatalytic stability under UV irradiation, retaining 96% Efficiency even after 15 cycles of MB degradation. Moreover, the sZG composite exhibited a high MB degradation Efficiency of approximately 99% after 100 min at a low catalyst loading of 0.2 g L−1 under solar light illumination. The excellent photocatalytic performance and high stability of this low-cost nanospherical ZnO/RGO Composite exemplarily highlights the potential of sustainable next-generation photocatalysis for treating wastewater containing organic pollutants. KW - Nanocomposite KW - Photocatalyst KW - Dye degradation PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.03.262 SN - 0169-4332 SN - 1873-5584 VL - 486 SP - 37 EP - 51 PB - Elsevier B. V. CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-48081 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nguyen, V. H. A1 - Ren, Y. A1 - Lee, Y. R. A1 - Tuma, Dirk A1 - Min, B.-K. A1 - Shim, J.-J. T1 - Microwave-assisted synthesis of carbon nanotube-TiO2 nanocomposites in ionic liquid for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue JF - Synthesis and reactivity in inorganic, metal-organic, and nano-metal chemistry N2 - A simple and efficient method of preparing composites of carbon nanotubes and titania (CNT-TiO2) is reported via a microwave-assisted synthesis in an ionic liquid, [bmim][BF4]. CNT-TiO2 nanocomposites were formed by the thermal decomposition of titanium (IV) isopropoxide (Ti(OPri)4) in the presence of CNTs under microwave irradiation. The obtained product was characterized by BET surface area, XRD, SEM, and TEM. TiO2 particles with average size of 9 nm were as anatase. The surface area of the Composites increased with an increase of CNT content. Moreover, the catalytic efficiency of the composite was investigated through the photoelectrodegradation of methylene blue. KW - Carbon nanotube KW - Ionic liquid KW - Microwave KW - Photocatalyst KW - TiO2 nanoparticles PY - 2012 DO - https://doi.org/10.1080/15533174.2011.610021 SN - 1553-3174 SN - 1553-3182 VL - 42 IS - 2 SP - 296 EP - 301 PB - Taylor and Francis Group, LLC CY - London AN - OPUS4-35895 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -