Enhanced photocatalytic activity of C@ZnO core-shell nanostructures and its photoluminescence property

• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.07.122
• Publication Date: 2016-07-22T11:52:16Z
• Authors: Tao Chen; Shanwen Yu; Xiaoxin Fang; Honghong Huang; Lun Li; Xiuyuan Wang; Huihu Wang
• Keywords: 01 natural sciences; 7. Clean energy; 0104 chemical sciences

Abstract An ultrathin layer of amorphous carbon coated C@ZnO core-shell nanostructures were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal carbonization process using glucose as precursor in this work. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and diffuse reflectance UV–vis spectroscopy (DRS) were used for the characterization of as-prepared samples. Photoluminescence (PL) properties of C@ZnO samples were investigated using PL spectroscopy. The microstructure analysis results show that the glucose content has a great influence on the size, morphology, crystallinity and surface chemical states of C@ZnO nanostructures. Moreover, the as-prepared C@ZnO core-shell nanostructures exhibit the enhanced photocatalytic activity and good photostability for methyl orange dye degradation due to its high adsorption ability and its improved optical characteristics.