Ternary system of ZnO nanorods/reduced graphene oxide/CuInS2 quantum dots for enhanced photocatalytic performance

A new ternary system consisting of ZnO nanorod/reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/CuInS2 quantum dots has been successfully prepared for photocatalytic application under visible light irradiation. Through the hybridization with the light harvesting material of CuInS2, as well as the conductivity medium RGO, the ternary composite achieves a greatly enhanced light absorption and charge transfer than that of the pristine ZnO. The photocatalytic performance of ZnO-RGO-CuInS2 is substantially elevated with an optimized content of 10% CuInS2 incorporated. The composite material of ZnO-RGO-10% CuInS2 can nearly completely degrade Rhodamine B (RhB) solution in 120 min, whereas bare ZnO itself can only degrade 20% RhB. The excellent photocatalytic performance of ZnO-RGO-CuInS2 demonstrates its promising in the photocatalytic or other extended applications. This work demonstrates a facile way to prepare integrative photosensitizer by taking advantage from the co-catalysts for more efficient and stable semiconductor based composite photocatalyst. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.