Photocatalytic Active Nanoporous Carbon/ZnO Hybrid Materials from Block Copolymer Tethered ZnO Nanocrystals

Severe water pollution issues present an important contemporary challenge that drives the development and advancement of efficient and environmentally benign photocatalysts that enable the degradation of pollutants upon visible light irradiation. One example are zinc oxide/carbon (ZnO/C) hybrid materials that have been shown to be effective photocatalysts. To maximize the effectiveness of ZnO/C hybrids, materials with high accessible surface area of ZnO are required. Here, a novel strategy is presented to enable the synthesis of fine dispersions of ZnO nanoparticles within a porous carbon matrix. The synthesis entails the grafting of ZnO nanparticles with polystyrene-b-poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (PS-b-PSAN) block copolymer and subsequent pyrolysis of the material under inert gas (N2) atmosphere. During the pyrolysis process, the PS block effectively prevents agglomeration of ZnO particles, thus resulting in a fine dispersion of ZnO nanocrystals within a prorous C matrix. Materials are found to exhibit...