Nanocomposite ZnO/SWNTs of zinc oxide (ZnO) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were fabricated by a sol-gel method using Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O as raw material. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy
scanning electron microscopy
transmission electron microscopy
thermogravimetric analysis
Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The results show that ZnO nanoparticles with the size of about 10 — 20 nm are closely deposited on the sidewalls of SWNTs and the nanocomposite presents enhanced absorption ability in the visible region. The composite exhibits a dramatically improved photocatalytic activity to decompose methyl orange and methylene blue in aqueous solutions under natural light. The photodegradation rate for methyl orange is 99.8% after 200 min
which is about 20 times that of pure ZnO (4.8%). For methylene blue