Bio-inspired hierarchical assembly of Au/ZnO decorated carbonized spinach leaves with enhanced photocatalysis performance

Publication date: Available online 16 February 2020Source: Journal of Alloys and CompoundsAuthor(s): Zhen Qin, Hang Sun, Yanan Tang, Zhiyong Chang, Shengyan Yin, Zhenning LiuAbstractInspired by the characteristics that plant leaves are beneficial for solar light absorption, we have prepared a bio-inspired hierarchical assembly of carbonized spinach leaves@Au/ZnO (CS@Au/ZnO) for solar energy utilization. CS@Au/ZnO shows a low light reflectance of 5% and a high specific surface area of 311.41 m2/g. CS@Au/ZnO demonstrates higher photocatalytic degradation efficiency: more than 97% of Rhodamine B (RhB) and 61% of ciprofloxacin (CIP) could be degraded in 180 min under the visible light irradiation. In addition, we also tested the photocatalytic H2 production performance of CS@Au/ZnO and the H2 evolution rate is 2.384 mmol g−1 h−1 under simulated solar light. CS@Au/ZnO shows a high cycling stability in recyclable photocatalytic degradation and photocatalytic water splitting. Moreover, CS@Au/ZnO shows a swift and steady photocurrent of about 63.6 μA/cm2, illustrating a high sensitivity to solar light. The enhanced photocatalysis performance of CS@Au/ZnO could be ascribed to the naturally optimized macroporous structure of CS with high conductivity, which could enhance the light harvesting and carrier transport, simultaneously. Moreover, modification of AuNPs can broaden the light response range of ZnONRs and reduce the probability of electron-hole recombination. Due...
Source: Journal of Alloys and Compounds - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research