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Synthesizing novel photocatalysts that can effectively harvest photon energy over a wide range of the solar spectrum for practical applications is vital. Porphyrin-derived nanostructures with properties similar to those of chlorophyll have emerged as promising candidates to meet this requirement. In this study, tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) nanofibers were formed on the surface of ZnO nanoparticles using a simple self-assembly approach. The obtained ZnO/TCPP nanofiber composites were characterized via scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and ultraviolet–visible absorbance and reflectance measurements. The results demonstrated that the ZnO nanoparticles with an average size of approximately 37 nm were well integrated in the TCPP nanofiber matrix. The resultant composite showed photocatalytic activity of ZnO and TCPP nanofibers concomitantly, with band gap energies of 3.12 and 2.43 eV, respectively. The ZnO/TCPP photocatalyst exhibited remarkable photocatalytic performance for RhB degradation with a removal percentage of 97% after 180 min of irradiation under simulated sunlight because of the synergetic activity of ZnO and TCPP nanofibers. The dominant active species participating in the photocatalytic reaction were •O2– and OH•, resulting in enhanced charge separation by exciton-coupled charge-transfer processes between the hybrid materials.

Reconstruction and stabilization of polar oxide surfaces, such as ZnO, contribute a significant role in photocatalysis, chemical sensing, and optoelectronic applications, however their physical chemistry insight is still a puzzle in the surface science. In this work, the polar surface instability induced the morphological evolution of hydrothermally synthesized micro-rod ZnO doped with various contents of Cu2+ ion (1-10 at.%) was investigated. The transformation of micro-rod morphology from the high aspect ratio flower-like shape of the pure ZnO to the hexagonal prism-like shape of the doped ZnO was characterized by X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and micro Raman spectroscopy. The chemically active Zn-terminated polar surface in doped samples was less positive charge density which was the main reason to cancel the electrostatic instability for the dominant growing direction. Furthermore, the schematic models of the electron transferring from the conduction band region to the electron trap centre of Cu2+, and the Zn-terminated polar surface reconstruction were proposed for the morphological evolution mechanism.

As a traditional direct bandgap oxide semiconductor, ZnO, showed as a promising photocatalytic candidate. Researchers worldwide reported many possibilities to improve its photocatalytic activity such as doped with metal, non-metal ions. As a result of heterojunction formation between ZnO and its intentional impurity, previous reports showed beneficial characteristics for enhancing photocatalytic activity in these ZnO-based materials, i.e. bandgap narrowing, recombination rate of photoelectron-hole prolonging, visible light absorption improving. This work will present the photocatalytic acitivity improvement of ZnO when doping with ion Cu2+ and try to illustrate the crucial photocatalytic enhancement factors.

Nitrogen-doped carbon hybridized nanodiamond (N-doped C@ND) materials have been developed and used as an electrocatalytic for oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs). The polymerized ionic liquids are employed to modify NDs and then subjected to thermal annealing at 600 °C, resulting in a high concentration of N-doped (9.33 at.%) carbon frameworks attached on the ND surface. This N-doped C@ND material provides a highly active mesoporous structure (4 nm pore) with a high surface area (366 m2 g−1) and allows for enhancement of catalytic performance compared to pure NDs. The N-doped C layers altered the electroneutrality of NDs, creating favourable charged sites for oxygen adsorption, thus weakening the O–O bond strength to facilitate ORR activity. Having a predominant four-electron transfer pathway with a total electron transfer number of 3.44–3.88 in the potential region of 0.1–0.8 VRHF, the N-doped C@ND-based catalyst materials performed well as a catalyst for the ORR in the alkaline medium. This affordable material and simple process will find potential application in clean energy generation and storage, durable fuel cells and metal–air batteries.

In this study, ZnO/reduced graphene oxide (ZnO/rGO) nanocomposites with various GO concentrations were hydrothermally fabricated. We showed that ZnO and rGO phases coexist in these ZnO/rGO nanocomposites and that the ZnO morphology varies from nanoplates to nanoparticles, with the average ZnO nanocrystal decreasing in size from 38 nm to 20 nm as the GO concentration increased from 0% to 10%. Oxygen-containing functional groups were strongly reduced during the ZnO/GO hybridization process used to form these nanocomposites. The visible 400–800 nm absorption band of the rGO layers increased in intensity with increasing GO concentration. Photocatalytic activity of ZnO/rGO nanocomposite samples was studied under visible light for 60 min. The photocatalytic properties of the ZnO/rGO nanocomposites were significantly superior to those of pure ZnO, with photocatalytic efficiency increasing with increasing GO concentration. Photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO/rGO nanocomposites increased by 30%, 32%, and 60% for samples with 4%, 6%, and 10% GO concentration respectively, after 60 min. These results highlight the potential of the ZnO/rGO nanocomposites for use in pollution-remediation applications.

Herein we studied the structure deformation and photoluminescence properties of titanium dioxide nanotube (TNT) hydrothermally grown on pristine graphene (Gr) surfaces. This Gr/TNT composite shows photocatalytic enhancement in terms of methylene blue degradation efficiency and short saturation time, as a result of heterogeneous junction formation through the interfacial connection of graphene by a facile one-step hydrothermal method. The Gr content within the composites was varied between 0.5 wt.%–8 wt.%, and the sample containing 5 wt% Gr (0.01 g) displayed the highest photocatalytic activity with methylene blue (20 ppm) degradation efficiency of 99.63%. In addition, all the composites exhibited a very short saturation time of ~5 min under sunlight irradiation. The morphological, crystal structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of the composite material were investigated using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Raman scattering spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The TNTs grown in situ with graphene showed that it enhanced their photocatalytic activity via the reduced carrier recombination rate of TNTs, which was studied by photoluminescence emission measurement. Furthermore, the mechanism by which the combined material properties affect the photocatalytic performance were characterized and clarified.