Influence of calcination temperature on the photocatalytic property of Fe–Cu–ZnO/graphene under visible light irradiation

Abstract

Fe–Cu–ZnO/graphene composites are prepared by sol-gel method. The influence of the calcination temperature on the catalytic performance of Fe–Cu–ZnO/graphene composites has been studied and their physicochemical properties are characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–Vis–DRS). The results show that Fe–Cu–ZnO/graphene composite calcined at 400°C exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity and the degradation rate of dark green dye in aqueous medium achieves 99.28% under exposure of visible light irradiation. The zinc species in the catalyst calcined at 400°C are all converted to the hexagonal wurtzite structures, and Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ are substituted ions in Zn²⁺ sites or incorporated into interstitial sites in the ZnO lattice which broaden the spectral response range to visible light. Meanwhile, the electrical properties of graphene are excellent which contribute to the enhanced charge carrier separation, extended light absorption, and increased surface hydroxyl groups. In addition, the catalyst is found to be relatively high reusable.