Microstructure, Crystallographic and Photoluminescence Examination of Ni Doped ZnO Nanoparticles Co-doped with Co by Sol–Gel Method

Fabrication of fullerene-supported La2O3-C60 nanocomposites: dual-functional materials for photocatalysis and supercapacitor electrodes

Nowadays, water pollution and energy crises worldwide force researchers to develop multi-functional and highly efficient nanomaterials. In this scenario, the present work reports a dual-functional La₂O₃-C₆₀ nanocomposite fabricated by a simple solution method. The grown nanomaterial worked as an efficient photocatalyst and proficient electrode material for supercapacitors. The physical and electrochemical properties were studied by state-of-the-art techniques. XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the formation of the La₂O₃-C₆₀ nanocomposite with TEM nano-graphs, and EDX mapping exhibits the loading of C₆₀ on La₂O₃ particles. XPS confirmed the presence of varying oxidation states of La³⁺/La²⁺. The electrochemical capacitive properties were tested by CV, EIS, GCD, ECSA, and LSV, which indicated that the La₂O₃-C₆₀ nanocomposite can be effectively used as an electrode material for durable and efficient supercapacitors. The photocatalytic test using methylene blue (MB) dye revealed the complete photodegradation of the MB dye under UV light irradiation after 30 min by a La₂O₃-C₆₀ catalyst with a reusability up to 7 cycles. The lower energy bandgap, presence of deep-level emissions, and lower recombination rate of photoinduced charge carriers in the La₂O₃-C₆₀ nanocomposite than those of bare La₂O₃ are responsible for enhanced photocatalytic activity with low-power UV irradiation. The fabrication of multi-functional and highly efficient electrode materials and photocatalysts such as La₂O₃-C₆₀ nanocomposites is beneficial for the energy industry and environmental remediation applications.

Highly efficient visible light active Cu-ZnO/S-g-C3N4 nanocomposites for efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

The photocatalytic activity of photocatalysts is severely hampered by limited visible light harvesting and unwanted fast recombination of photogenerated e^- and h⁺. In the current study, the photocatalytic efficiency of Cu-ZnO/S-g-C₃N₄ (CZS) nanocomposites was investigated against MB dye. The composite materials were designed via chemical co-precipitation method and characterised by important analytical techniques. Distinctive heterojunctions developed between S-g-C₃N₄ and Cu-ZnO in the CZS composite were revealed by TEM. The synthesized composites exhibit a huge number of active sites, a large surface area, a smaller size and better visible light absorption. The considerable enhancement in the photocatalytic activity of CZS nanocomposites might be accredited to the decay in the e-h pair recombination rate and a red shift in the visible region, as observed by PL and optical analysis, respectively. Furthermore, the metal (Cu) doping into the S-g-C₃N₄/ZnO matrix created exemplary interfaces between ZnO and S-g-C₃N₄, and maximized the photocatalytic activity of CZS nanocomposites. In particular, CZS nanocomposites synthesized by integrating 25% S-g-C₃N₄ with 4% Cu-ZnO (CZS-25 NCs) exhibited the 100% photocatalytic degradation of MB in 60 minutes under sunlight irradiation. After six cycles, the photocatalytic stability of CZS-25 NCs was excellent. Likewise, a plausible MB degradation mechanism is proposed over CZS-25 NCs based on photoluminescence and reactive species scavenger test observation. The current research supports the design of novel composites for the photocatalytic disintegration of organic contaminants.