Reduced graphene oxide supported ZnO quantum dots for visible light-induced simultaneous removal of tetracycline and hexavalent chromium

Semiconducting nanomaterials play an important role in the photocatalytic removal of aqueous pollutants like heavy metals, organic compounds, pathogens and antibiotics. In this study, we prepared ZnO quantum dots (QD) by the precipitation method and ZnO/rGO materials with varying percentages (0.5–2 wt%) of ZnO were prepared by the hydrothermal method. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by various physicochemical techniques, such as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-VIS-DRS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis to determine the structural as well as textural and surface properties. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared catalysts was analyzed during the individual and simultaneous removal of tetracycline (TC) and hexavalent chromium [Cr(vi)] in aqueous medium. Among all the catalysts, 1.5 wt% ZnO/rGO showed the highest visible light activity, where 68% tetracycline and 84% Cr(vi) abatement was observed after 120 min irradiation time. Moreover, tetracycline showed 70% mineralization. The photocatalytic activity is explained based on the photo-generated electron transfer from the conduction band (CB) of ZnO to the surface of rGO which prevents the recombination of excitons and produces OH˙ and O(2)(−)˙; these radicals play an important role in degrading the TC and Cr(vi). The mechanism suggested that the co-existence of oxidizable and reducible species such as TC and Cr(vi) ensured the effective use of the photo-generated electrons and holes that leads to the efficient oxidation of TC and Cr(vi) reduction.