Enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO nanopowders through Ag + graphene addition.

Undoped ZnO, ZnO:Ag and ZnO:Ag/RGO (reduced graphene oxide) nanopowders were synthesized using co-precipitation method. The photocatalytic, antibacterial, structural, surface morphological and optical properties of the synthesized nanopowders were studied. From the X-ray diffractometer profiles, it is found that all the samples exhibit hexagonal structure without any secondary phase. The photocatalytic and antibacterial studies show that ZnO:Ag/RGO nanopowders exhibit enhanced photocatalytic and antibacterial activities when compared with undoped ZnO and ZnO:Ag nanopowders. The variations observed in the intensities of the PL emission peaks are correlated with the enhanced photocatalytic and antibacterial efficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]