Fabrication and properties of ZnO/poly (vinyl alcohol) composite photocatalyst materials with conjugation structure

Nano ZnO semiconductor material was synthesized using ZnO and NaOH as raw materials through low-temperature hydrothermal method, and then the ZnO/PVA_C composite photocatalyst materials containing conjugated double bond carbon chain structure (C) in poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) water solution were fabricated through direct thermal degradation of the coacervated PVA layer. The samples were characterized by SEM, XRD, FTIR, Raman and UV-Vis DRS. The results show that ZnO/PVA_C composite photocatalyst materials contain nano ZnO with good crystallization property and conjugated polymer structure, where nano ZnO is cavlently linked with conjugated structures of PVA_C through the interfacial Zn-O-C chemical bonds. The ZnO/PVA_C composite photocatalyst materials show extended light absorption in the visible light region and occur higher photocurrent under simulated sunlight irradiation. The photocatalytic property test results confirm that ZnO/PVA_C composite photocatalyst materials exhibit better photocatalytic effect on the degradation of Rhodamine B (30 min degradation rate of up to 100%) compared to that with only nano ZnO.