Photocatalytic efficiency of graphene/nickel oxide nanocomposites towards the degradation of anionic and cationic dye molecules under visible light

Simplified synthesis of nickel oxide nanorods (NiO NRs) and graphene/NiO nanocomposites (Grn/NiO NCs) was achieved using a chemical reduction approach of Grn and nickel chloride precursors. The crystalline nature of the prepared NiO NRs and Grn/NiO NCs was investigated using X-ray diffraction analysis, and the surface morphology was examined using transmission electron microscope. We examined the phtocatalytic efficiency of Grn/NiO NCs against anionic and cationic dye molecules. The Grn/NiO NCs showed 100% photocatalytic activity for methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) dye molecules within 90 and 120 min, respectively. The presence of Grn sheets has enhance the photocatalytic activity of NCs under visible light irradiation by reducing the recombination of excited electrons in the conduction band (CB) with holes in the valence band (VB) when Grn/NiO NCs reacted with dyes. We have developed efficient visible light functionalized Grn/NiO NCs photo-catalysts for practical environmental applications using simple and cost-effective approach for large-scale manufacturing.