Abstract
PCBs were used for several decades as coolants, lubricants in transformers, plasticizers, and dielectric fluids, being highly carcinogenic and representing a severe environmental problem in soil and water. Pure and modified TiO2 has been the most studied photocatalyst looking to degrade PCBs into less toxic products. Lately, ZnO-graphene composites have played an essential role in the photocatalytic degradation of various toxic organic compounds. In this work, ZnO nanostructures were coupled with reduced graphene oxide (ZnO-rGO) via a one-pot microwave-assisted hydrothermal route. As a result, the composites exhibited improved photocatalytic performance for PCBs degradation compared to ZnO nanoparticles. Thus, this research provides an in-situ method to grow different morphologies of ZnO on rGO.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 204-214 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Nanocomposites |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2022 |
Keywords
- Nanocomposites
- PCBs
- ZnO-rGO
- degradation
- dichlorination
- photocatalysis
- polychlorinated biphenyls
- toxic products