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ZnO/CuO microspheres are modified by graphene oxide through in-situ and two step methods, respectively. The effects of graphene oxide content and preparation method on the morphology, structure and photocatalytic properties of this heterostructure are investigated. Those results show that ZnO/CuO/GO (ZCGO) with uniform size and high catalytic activity can be obtained through in-situ preparation. When the content of GO is 6 mL, ZCGO have the best photocatalytic performance under sunlight. It can reduce 99% rhodamine B solution in 100 min, and the degradation rate is 1.4 times that of ZnO/CuO composites. The embedded GO sheet effectively reduces the resistivity and improves the photocurrent, which increases from 102 μ A/cm2 (ZnO/CuO) to 140 μ A/cm2 (ZCGO). [Display omitted] • The ZnO/CuO/GO heterostructure structure are prepared successfully through in situ hydrothermal method. • The photocatalytic performance of ZnO/CuO/GO heterojunction is significantly improved compared with ZnO/CuO. • The embedded GO sheet effectively reduces the resistivity and improves the photocurrent. Semiconductor photocatalysts are energy-saving, environmental-friendly and efficient, which have great potential in solving environmental pollution. In this paper, ZnO/CuO microspheres are modified by Graphene Oxide (GO) through in-situ and two-step methods, respectively. The effects of graphene oxide content and preparation method on the morphology, structure and photocatalytic properties of heterostructure microspheres are investigated. The results show that ZnO/CuO/GO (ZCGO) microspheres with uniform size and high catalytic activity can be obtained through in-situ preparation. When the content of GO is 6 mL, composites prepared through in-situ method have the best photocatalytic performance under sunlight. It can reduce 99% rhodamine B solution in 100 min, and the degradation rate is 1.4 times that of ZnO/CuO composites. The embedded GO sheet reduces the resistivity and improves the photocurrent which increases from 102 μA/cm2 (ZnO/CuO) to 140 μA/cm2 (ZCGO). Those results indicate ZCGO can serve as suitable carrier for photocatalytic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photographs of RhB degradation under natural sunlight at different time: (a) 1h, (b) 3h, and (c) 6h. Single crystalline ZnO nanorods were prepared by annealing zinc acetate, and ZnO nanorod membrane was fabricated using carbon fiber cloth (CF) as support. ZnO nanorods possess superior catalytic activity under natural sunlight and visible light. Furthermore, ZnO-CF membrane exhibits good catalytic activity and strong stability during the degradation process, which is conducive to the application in the actual sewage treatment of ZnO nanorods. • Single crystalline ZnO nanorods were prepared by annealing zinc acetate. • ZnO nanorod membrane was fabricated using carbon fiber cloth as support. • ZnO nanorods possess superior catalytic activity under natural sunlight. • ZnO nanorod membrane exhibits good catalytic activity and stability. To solve the low catalytic activity and recycling difficulty of ZnO nanomaterials, a simple and large-scale synthesized method was used to prepare single crystalline ZnO nanorods with visible light response, and then ZnO membrane was fabricated using carbon fiber (CF) cloth as support. The resultant ZnO nanorods were carried out with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Ultraviolet spectrophotometer, and fluorescence spectrum. The experimental results display that the prepared ZnO nanorods own single crystalline structure and outstanding photocatalytic performance, which the removal time of all RhB is 15 min at UV light, 60 min at visible light and 100 min at natural sunlight, respectively. Moreover, ZnO nanorod membrane can completely remove RhB within 6 h under natural sunlight, meaning that the synthesized ZnO nanorods and ZnO nanorod membrane have potential industrial application prospect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]