Organic/inorganic nanocomposites of ZnO/CuO/chitosan with improved properties

To extend the visible light response of ZnO, ZnO/CuO heterostructured nanocomposite was synthesized by a hydrothermal approach. At the same time, chitosan (Ch) is considered as a very promising natural polymer. It holds not only abundant resource and low cost, but also has excellent adsorption properties to a broad range of organic pollutants and some heavy metal ions. To improve the adsorption properties of ZnO/CuO nanocomposite, ZnO/CuO/chitosan organic-inorganic composites were prepared with precipitation method. The as-prepared nanocomposites were characterized by TEM (Transmission electron microscopy), SAED pattern (Selected Area Electron Diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), UV-Vis (Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy), PL (Photoluminescence), XRD (X-ray diffraction), TGA (Thermo Gravimetric Analyzer), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra (FTIR) et al. To examine the surface and interface properties of nanocomposites, chemical prototype sensor arrays were constructed based on ZnO, ZnO/CuO, ZnO/Cu2O, ZnO/CuO/chitosan, ZnO/Cu2O/chitosan nanocomposites and QCM (quartz crystal microbalance) arrays devices. The adsorption response behaviors of the sensor arrays to some typical volatile compounds were examined under similar conditions. The results indicated that with comparison to ZnO nanostructure, the ZnO/CuO nanocomposite exhibited enhanced adsorption properties to some typical volatile compounds greatly, and the adsorption properties of ZnO/CuO/chitosan are much better than that of ZnO/CuO nanocomposite. The adsorption of ZnO/CuO system is super to that of ZnO/Cu2O. Therefore, ZnO/CuO/chitosan nanocomposite not only showed broadening visible light response, but also possessed of excellent adsorption properties, and has good potential applications in photocatalysts, chemical sensors, biosensors, self-cleaning coating fields et al. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.