Facile Synthesis of Hafnium Oxide Nanoparticle Decorated on Graphene Nanosheet and Its Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants under UV-Light Irradiation

The HfO2 nanoparticles and the nanocomposites of HfO2-graphene (10, 30, and 50 wt%) were prepared via precipitation and simple mixing method. The XRD pattern confirmed the presence of monoclinic HfO2 and hexagonal graphene in the nanocomposite. Raman spectroscopy studies revealed the formation of HfO2-graphene nanocomposite. According to SEM and TEM images the HfO2, NPs are spherical, and their size is less than 10 nm, anchored on the surface of the graphene sheets. The EDX spectrum shows carbon, oxygen, and HfO2 and reveals the formation of the HfO2-graphene nanocomposite. The UV-vis absorption spectra show the optical properties of synthesized HfO2-graphene nanocomposite. The study examines the influence of different ratios of the addition of graphene on the photocatalytic activity of HfO2-graphene. It was found that the HfO2-graphene (50 wt%) 40 mg nanocomposite exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity than the bare HfO2 towards the methylene blue photodegradation, an aromatic pollutant in water under UV light irradiation, which can be applied optimally for individually wastewater management system. The HfO2-graphene (50 wt%) photocatalyst degrades 81 +/- 2% of tetracycline in 180 min, implying that tetracycline can be degraded more efficiently under UV light. The enhancement in photocatalytic activity under UV light illumination can be attributed to the effective separation of photogenerated electrons, inhibiting recombination in the HfO2-graphene composite.