Facile in-situ solvothermal method to synthesize ZnPc–MWCNTs composites with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

Abstract The zinc phthalocyanine/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (ZnPc/MWCNTs) composites were successfully prepared by a simple in-situ solvothermal method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS), FT-IR spectra, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Raman spectroscopy were used for the characterization of prepared photocatalysts. The TEM and SEM morphological studies of the ZnPc–MWCNTs composites suggested that the in-situ composite method was effective to achieve good dispersion of ZnPc in MWCNTs. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation. Compared with the pure ZnPc and oxidized-MWCNTs, the ZnPc–MWCNTs exhibited significantly excellent photocatalytic activities under the irradiation of visible light. The photodegradation efficiency of ZnPc–MWCNTs hybrid materials is about 93.2% within 60 min irradiation. A possible mechanism for the photodegradation of rhodamine B (RB) was suggested. The hybrid materials provide great potential as active photocatalysts for degrading organic pollutions.