Synthesis of the ternary photocatalyst based on ZnO sensitized graphene quantum dot reinforced with conducting polymer exhibiting photocatalytic activity

Conducting ternary photocatalyst, PEDOT@ZnO@GQDs with porous structure was synthesized using chemical oxidative polymerization. The fabricated photocatalyst was characterized by means of various spectroscopic techniques namely UV-Visible, FT-IR, XRD and the surface morphology was explored by SEM and TEM. Electro-catalytic activity of the photocatalyst has been studied by cyclic voltammetry. The kinetics of the photocatalytic degradation of the cationic dyes namely MB and R6G were studied in presence of PEDOT@ZnO@GQDs irradiated with UV light and solar light. The photocatalyst showed efficient photodegradation capacity due to the synergized effect of all three components namely PEDOT, ZnO and GQDs. The photocatalyst degraded the dyes in presence of solar light more efficiently. Photodegradation of the dyes follow first order kinetics, the kinetic parameters viz. rate constant and half life time period of the degradation of the dyes was evaluated through the plotted linear curves of concentration versus time.