Synthesis of ZnO/Ag/phosphorene for photocatalytic reduction of hexavalent chromium (Cr-VI)

Disinfection and mineralization of organic compounds and other harmful pollutants is a trend in semiconductor based photocatalysts under UV and visible light irradiation. Some heavy metals and refractive organic materials do not get transported to other phases and impossible to completely mineralize. Current research provides an experimental synthesis of a semiconductor composite–photocatalysts ZnO/Ag/phosphorene by a simple hydrothermal method. The concentration of Phosphorene in the composite was varied from 1 to 5%. Overall, four samples were made from which the composite with 5% concentration of phosphorene was the most efficient among all. The optical properties of prepared materials were determined through UV–Vis and PL spectroscopies; however, for morphology and crystallinity, the XRD and SEM were used. The prepared photocatalysts showed a bandgap between 3.14 and 2.43 eV, whereas the lesser recombination was observed on increasing the concentration of phosphorene in composite.