Environmental Chemistry Letters

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01361-1

REVIEW

ZnO‑based heterostructures as photocatalysts for hydrogen

generation and depollution: a review
Pooja Dhiman1,2 · Garima Rana1 · Amit Kumar2,3,5   · Gaurav Sharma2,3 · Dai‑Viet N. Vo4 · Mu. Naushad6

Received: 27 October 2021 / Accepted: 20 November 2021

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

Abstract
Energy shortage and escalating pollution are major challenges globally. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is one of the most
cost-effective methods for producing renewable energy and removing pollutants. In particular, ZnO nanostructures are prom-
ising photocatalysts that are economic, stable, and biologically safe. ZnO-based nanoheterostructures have been used for
heavy metal reduction, organic pollutants degradation, photocatalytic hydrogen production, and drug mineralization. Here,
we review ZnO-based nanoheterojunctions as photocatalysts for hydrogen production and pollutant degradation. Hydrogen
production has reached 1200 mol ­g−1 ­h−1 using Ce-doped ZnO/ZnS heterojunction, with a 8.5-fold higher efficiency than bare
ZnO. Nearly complete removal of a dye pollutant was achieved in 15 min using hybrid ethyl cellulose-modified g-C3N4/ZnO.
Moreover, ZnO/Ag2WO4/Fe3O4 showed a 152% and 143% higher antibiotic degradation rate than bare A ­ g2WO4 and ZnO,
respectively. We present methods to modify ZnO, including coupling with other semiconductors, metal/non-metal doping,
and carbon-based materials coupling; and methods for charge divergence in binary and ternary ZnO-based nanocomposites.

Keywords  Zinc oxide · Photocatalysts · Semiconductor heterojunctions · Binary and ternary nanocomposites · Hydrogen
energy · Environmental remediation

Abbreviations
BCN Boron carbon nitride
* Pooja Dhiman CB Conduction band
dhimanpooja85@gmail.com CIP Ciprofloxacin
* Amit Kumar DRS Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy
mittuchem83@gmail.com g-C3N4 Graphitic carbon nitride
1
School of Physics and Materials Science, Shoolini GO Graphene oxide
University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, HRTEM High-resolution transmission electron
Bajhol, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229, India microscopy
2
International Research Centre of Nanotechnology MB Methylene blue
for Himalayan Sustainability (IRCNHS), Shoolini University, MO Methyl orange
Bajhol, India OTC Oxytetracycline
3
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen PE-CVD Plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition
Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, PL Photoluminescence
Guangdong Research Centre for Interfacial Engineering
of Functional Materials, Nanshan District Key Lab RhB Rhodamine B
for Biopolymers and Safety Evaluation, Shenzhen University, R6G Rhodamine 6G
Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of China RGO Reduced graphene oxide
4
Center of Excellence for Green Energy and Environmental SEM Scanning electron microscopy
Nanomaterials (CE@GrEEN), Nguyen Tat Thanh SAED Selected area electron diffraction
University, 300A Nguyen Tat Thanh, District 4, TEM Transmission electron microscopy
Ho Chi Minh City 755414, Vietnam
UV Ultraviolet
5
School of Science and Technology, Glocal University, VB Valance band
Saharanpur, India
XRD X-ray powder diffraction
6
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud 4-NP 4-Nitrophenol
University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

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 Environmental Chemistry Letters

Introduction degradation process (Theerthagiri et al. 2014, 2018; Jayara-

man et al. 2015; Senthil et al. 2017; Bhowmik et al. 2018):
Environmental pollution has been a significant threat to
Catalyst + h𝜈 → e− + h+ (1)
human life and its accomplishments in recent years. Indus-
tries release millions of wads of ravaged materials into the
atmosphere, including dye, harmful sludge, textile waste, e− + O2 → O−2 (2)
pharmaceutical waste, and so on, which increase the level of
pollution (Xiang et al. 2012; Kumar et al. 2017b; Tofa et al. O−2 + 2e− + 2H+ → HO⋅ + HO− (3)
2019; Rana et al. 2021; Sharma et al 2018a). The scientific
community has worked hard to establish technologies and
materials that have the desired performance for the removal
h+ + H2 O → H+ + HO⋅ (4)
of contamination and efficient detection of pollutants. Power
and environmental problems, two of the century's most Pollutant + HO⋅ → mineralised product(CO2 + H2 O) (5)
emerging issues, need to be resolved. So, it is necessary
According  to  thermodynamics,  holes  in  the  val-
for the removal of pollutants from our environment and to
ance  band  should  be  positive  and  electrons  in  the  con-
discover new green environmentally friendly techniques
duction  band  should  be  negative  to  form  hydroxyl  ra-
(Dionysiou 2014; Kumar et al. 2019a, 2021a). Metal ions,
dicals  and  dioxygen  reduction. As a substitute for
dyes, and pharmaceutical contaminants have all risen dra-
well-known semiconductors such as T ­ iO2 (Joo et al. 2013;
matically in recent years, and various methods have been
Pirkanniemi and Sillanpää 2002; Liu et  al. 2010), ­WO3
employed to eliminate those (Sharma et al. 2018b; Kumar
(Janáky et al. 2013), ­Bi2O3 (Balachandran and Swamina-
et al. 2019b; Izzudin et al. 2021). The synergistic capacity of
than 2012; Dutta et al. 2012; Zhu et al. 2012; Dong et al.
the nanoheterostructure demonstrates good efficiency in the
2014) and ­Fe2O3 (Sivula et al. 2011; Townsend et al. 2011),
removal of pollutants in wastewater by photo-oxidation and
ZnO (Zhang and Zeng 2010) has recently been the focus of
photoreduction (Kumar et al. 2017a; Dhiman et al. 2021a).
research efforts by virtue of its surprising assistance such
Photocatalysis has been used to degrade contaminants
as low cost and high quantum performance, and a desir-
using semiconductor-based nanomaterials (Shekofteh-
able band-gap and photocatalytic mechanisms (Sun et al.
Gohari and Habibi-Yangjeh 2016a; Dhiman et al. 2017,
2014; Ye et al. 2014; Zhang et al. 2014). Figure 1a, b depicts
2021b). Heterogeneous photocatalysts are also promising
the number of publications of zinc oxide nanoparticles as
candidates for purifying water/air (Zangeneh et al. 2015;
catalysts for harmful drugs, dyes, and heavy metals. The
Boyjoo et al. 2017). High quantum performance, significant
majority of the published work has been recorded in the
solar energy absorption potential, biologically and chemi-
past few years.
cally inert, and non-toxicity are all qualities of good nano-
Since zinc oxide has a broad bandgap (3.37 eV) and a
heterogeneous photocatalysts. In nanoheterogeneous photo-
high binding energy (60 meV) (Wang 2004; Çolak et al.
catalytic producers, when excited electrons are transferred
2017), it can show better photocatalytic activity as compared
from the valence band to conduction band, charge carriers
to ­TiO2 (Hariharan 2006; Colón et al. 2008; Mijin et al.
are generated. This occurs when the energy of absorbed pho-
2009). This is because zinc oxide (200–300 ­cm2 ­V−1 ­s−1)
tons is equal to or greater than the energy of the catalyst
has a much higher electron mobility than ­TiO2 (0.1–4.0
bandgap (Casbeer et al. 2012; Ajmal et al. 2014). The photo-
­cm2 ­V−1 ­s−1), which speeds up electron transfer and leads to
generated electrons are not stable, and the majority of these
high quantum efficiency (Anta et al. 2012; Chandiran et al.
electrons come back to the valence band and discharge the
2014). In addition, photocatalyst reactions of zinc oxide
absorbed heat as a kind of energy in a nanosecond (Etacheri
(ZnO) nanoparticles work best, when pH maintained at ̴ 7,
et al. 2015). Some of the photo-induced electrons and holes
which gives it an edge over the competition. ZnO absorbs a
travel to the surface of the photocatalysts, where they react
bigger part of the UV spectrum and light quanta than ­TiO2,
with the adsorbed chemicals (Banerjee et al. 2014; Reddy
resulting in high pollutant treatment under light illumination
et al. 2016). ·OH radicals are mainly produced by holes
(Akyol et al. 2004; Hariharan 2006; Shukla et al. 2010; Tian
that present in the valence band of the photocatalysts and
et al. 2012; Fenoll et al. 2013; Liao et al. 2013). Zinc oxide
oxidizing the ­H2O or O ­ H– (Pelaez et al. 2012; Wang et al.
(n-type conductivity, i.e. ­Zn1+σ0, σ ˃ 0) is commonly wurtz-
2015; Fagan et al. 2016; Wen et al. 2017). Furthermore, ·O2–,
ite-like structure with space group P63mc (a = 3.25 Ǻ, and
­HO2–, ­H2O2, and ·OH reactive oxygen species are produced
c = 5.20 Ǻ) (Dhiman et al. 2019). For comparative purpose,
by decreasing the oxygen molecules present in the conduc-
band structures of various oxides are presented diagrammati-
tion band of the catalysts (reactions 1–5). The following
cally in Fig. 2. Photocatalysis (Dhiman et al. 2020a; Satish
are the prominent reactions that occur for the period of the
Kumar et al. 2019), light emitting diodes, photovoltaic cell,

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Environmental Chemistry Letters
Fig. 1  Publications on a zinc oxide as a photocatalyst and b removal
of dyes, drugs, and heavy metals by zinc oxide from 2010 to 2021
(Source: Scopus, September 2021). ZnO is being effectively utilized
Fig. 2  Band structures of zinc oxide and other metal oxide semicon-
ductors used as photocatalysts. In the figure, NHE is used for normal
hydrogen electrode. A comparison of bandgap of various semicon-
ductor oxides illustrates the proper choice of material to act as poten-
tial photocatalyst
gas sensors, pyro-electricity, pigments (Lavat et al. 2008),
shielding resources (Tu et al. 2010), actuators (Pillai et al.
2013), and spin electronics (Liu et al. 2013), and all benefit
from ZnO's unique physicochemical, optoelectronic, and
magnetic properties (Li et al. 2015c).
as promising photocatalyst for the removal of organic pollutants and
an exponential increase in the publications is observed
Fundamentals of photocatalysis
Photocatalytic mechanism
When a photocatalyst is exposed to light with a wavelength
that exceeds its band-gap energy, photocatalysis occurs.
Light energy absorption leads electrons to be stimulated
from the valence band to conduction band, creating a hole
in the valence band, causing charge separation (Gupta and
Tripathi 2011). The photo-generated ­e−/h+ (electrons/holes)
carriers then migrate to the photocatalysts’ surface. When
quantum yield reduces, at the same time, recombination of
electrons and holes happens. Photocatalyst structures and
surface modifications are some factors that influence this
recombination rate (Bera et al. 2016; Yu et al. 2016a). When
reactive electrons and holes arrive at the surface of zinc
oxide to enhance oxidation and reduction processes, sur-
plus superoxide radicals and hydroxyl radicals are generated.
·OH is mainly produced by holes that present in the valence
band of the photocatalysts and oxidizing the ­H2O or ­OH–.
Furthermore, oxygen molecules are dismissed in the pho-
tocatalyst’s conduction band to produce ·O2–, ·OH species
and these radical groups directly oxidize the contaminations
molecules in solution. Figure 3 shows the essential method
involved in photocatalysis.
Effect of crystallite size and morphology
Zinc oxide is n-type semiconductor material with broad
bandgap and a high exciton binding energy (Zha et al. 2015).
13

Zinc oxide has lot of applications such as field emission
devices (Hwang et al. 2011), medication administration (Cai
et al. 2016), piezoelectric devices (Dagdeviren et al. 2016),
photocatalysis, and so on. ZnO has wurtzite-like structure
with space group P63mc and more thermodynamically
steady at adverse environmental situations (Dhiman et al.
2013, 2020b; Kayaci et al. 2014; Kumar et al. 2016; Sena-
pati and Kumar 2018). This varies depending on factors
such as doped atom concentration, flaws, external crystal
lattice stresses, and temperature and much more. Recently,
Byzynski et al. have demonstrated the impact of morphol-
ogy on the photocatalytic behaviour of ZnO and nitrogen-
doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by microwave-assisted
hydrothermal (MAH) and modified polymeric precursor
method (MPP) (Byzynski et al. 2017). Field emission scan-
ning electron microscopy images of the microwave-assisted
hydrothermal synthesized samples exhibit the flower-shaped
morphology for both bare ZnO and N-doped ZnO samples.
But N-doped ones were bigger in size. Similarly, modified
polymeric precursor method-synthesized samples exhibited
the nanoplate-like morphology and high-resolution images
confirmed the crystalline nature of the synthesized samples
(Fig. 4a–h). An evident impact of particle morphology can
be observed on photocatalytic activity against the degrada-
tion of rhodamine B (RhB) under ultraviolet and visible-
light irradiation (Fig. 4i, j). However, the microwave-assisted
hydrothermal-synthesized samples proved to be better cata-
lysts than modified polymeric precursor method synthesized
catalysts. The scavenging experiments confirmed the holes/
oxygen vacancies as the reactive species for the decolouri-
zation of rhodamine B (inset of Fig. 4i, j). Similar to the
Fig. 3  Basic mechanism of photocatalysis involving the role of elec-
tron acceptors (R) and electron donors (D). In the figure, CB refers
to conduction band and VB refers to valence band. The mechanism
shows the possible reduction, oxidation as well as recombination pro-
cess involved in photo-degradation process which takes place when
photocatalyst surface is irradiated with light
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Environmental Chemistry Letters
rhodamine B reduction, the synthesized samples were capa-
ble of reducing Cr (VI) as shown in Fig. 4k. This kind of
experimental evidence suggests to the scientific community
that particle shape, morphology, and size also play a major
role in photocatalytic processes.
In another reported work, zinc oxide was fabricated by
co-precipitation technique and this method shows high deg-
radation capacity of rhodamine B dye as compared to citrate
technique (Giraldi et al. 2012). The precipitation approach
resulted in a crystalline surface that was free of impurities
and favourable for catalysis process. The activity of zinc
oxide in comparison with a precursor made by the citrate
approach using zinc acetate was followed by zinc nitrate and
then zinc sulphate, but those were fabricated by the precipi-
tation approach were essentially identical. Some synthesis-
related characteristics, such as surface morphologies, aggre-
gation of particles, and sintering temperature, as well as the
counter anion of the zinc precursor, had no effect on the
degradation kinetics. (Giraldi et al. 2012). In most situations,
the photo-activity does not grow monotonically as particle
size decreases, and the interaction between size dependency
and catalytic effectiveness is complex. The correct dimen-
sion is required to balance the precise surface area, material
crystalline structure, and surface-bulk carrier recombination
possibilities to produce optimum performance.
Influence of pH and degradation pathways
An extremely difficult task is to interpret pH effects on
photo-degradation efficiency. It is possible to reduce the
organic pollutant by three possible reaction mechanisms
such as radical attacks on hydroxyl, direct oxidation of
positive hole, and direct decreases of the conducting band
electron. The contribution of each is regulated by the sub-
stratum’s composition and pH (Tang et al. 1997). The pH
of the solution is also controlling the size of the aggregates
generated and the photocatalysts surface charging properties
(Qamar and Muneer 2009). In the highly acidic media, the
zinc oxide particles are also dissociated (El-Kemary et al.
2010). Relying on the solution pH, a catalyst’s surface can
be charged positively or negatively. The amphoteric char-
acteristic of most metal hydroxide surfaces explains this
fact. The zinc oxide surface is negative charged mainly with
adsorbed hydroxyl ions over the pH of 9.3 (Kansal et al.
2007; Ba-Abbad et al. 2013). The pH of the solution is thus
influenced by the adsorption of organic matter to zinc oxide.
Chauhan and his team observed that the photocatalyst has
increased its degradation efficiency with a higher pH (Chau-
han et al. 2020b). According to Hayat and colleagues, the
negative charge of zinc oxide and the pH solution (pH = 9)
as well as the repulsive force between both the ZnO region
and the pollutant reduced the chances of a process consider-
ably (Hayat et al. 2011). The interpretation of pH effects is
Environmental Chemistry Letters
Fig. 4  Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM)
images: a undoped ZnO sample synthesized by microwave-assisted
hydrothermal (ZnOm), c N-doped ZnO sample synthesized by micro-
wave-assisted hydrothermal (ZnONm), e Undoped ZnO sample syn-
thesized by modified polymeric precursor (ZnOp), g N-doped ZnO
synthesized by modified polymeric precursor; high-resolution trans-
mission electron images of ZnO synthesized samples for b undoped
ZnO sample synthesized by microwave-assisted hydrothermal
(ZnOm), d N-doped ZnO sample synthesized by microwave-assisted
hydrothermal (ZnONm), f Undoped ZnO sample synthesized by
modified polymeric precursor (ZnOp), h N-doped ZnO sample syn-
thesized by modified polymeric precursor (ZnONp); i photocatalytic
degradation of rhodamine B by zinc oxide samples under ultraviolet
light (inset includes rate constant k for various scavengers solutions),
f photo-degradation of rhodamine B by ZnO samples under visible
light (inset includes degradation rate constant k for various scaven-
gers solutions), k photo-degradation of Cr(VI) by ZnO samples under
ultraviolet light (Reproduced with permission from (Byzynski et  al.
2017) (Copyright Elsevier). Figure differentiates the surface morphol-
ogy and dimensions of bare and doped ZnO nanoparticles synthe-
sized by two different synthesis routes along with photo-degradation
graphs observed for degradation of Cr (VI)
13

complex in the photocatalytic process due to the numerous
factors such as catalyst surface interactions, substrates, and
charged radicals and the pH controls on breeding between
species (Kansal et al. 2007; Qamar and Muneer 2009; Tale-
bian et al. 2012).
Furthermore, a variety of processes, such as straight
reductions in generated electrons or holes and mediated reac-
tions to hydroxyl radicals, may lead to degradation at various
pH values and operating conditions. The hydroxyl radicals
formed at the nanoparticles surface, by the reaction between
photo-induced holes and hydroxide ions, are also affected by
pH, which has a significant impact on photocatalytic activ-
ity. Hydroxyl radicals are thought to be the most important
species at neutral or high pH (Jallouli et al. 2017), while
positive holes are thought to be the most important species
that produce oxidation reactions at lower pH (Ahmad et al.
2016). In another reported work, photo-degradation rate of
cephalexin increases with the increase in the pH from 5 to
9.2 by zinc oxide nanowires (He et al. 2019). Such results
are attributed to the reason that ­h+ are the major carriers at
lower pH and OH· at the higher pH values.
Recent work by Le and group is also focussed on pH
effect on photo-degradation of organic pollutant using ZnO
nanoparticles (Le et al. 2021). Photo-corrosion behaviour of
ZnO at various conditions of light irradiation was analysed.
The results under dark conditions were prominent indicating
the weight loss of ZnO as 10.3%, 0.2%, and 2.1% at pH 3,
7 and 11, respectively. However, under the ultraviolet-light
irradiation, the weight loss of ZnO was much elevated for
acidic as well as basic conditions. These results indicate the
photo-corrosion of ZnO is highly expected under ultraviolet
light. The removal degradation power of ZnO against rhoda-
mine B was found to increase with the increase in pH, and
less removal efficiency in acidic medium was attributed to
the higher solubility of ZnO particles in the solution under
ultraviolet light condition. To summarize, pH is a crucial
parameter which plays a significant role in photocatalytic
activity either directly or indirectly.
Light intensity effects
To attain high output in photocatalytic reactions, the optimal
light intensity must be chosen. At low intensity values (0–20
mW/cm2), the reaction rate increases linearly, suggesting
that rising light intensity will rise the rate of nanoparticles
photocatalytic reaction, while the propensity of electron and
hole recombination becomes insignificant (Mozia 2010).
Since the separation of charge carriers (electron–hole pair)
competes with recombination at intermediate light intensi-
ties (approximately 25 mW/cm2), the square root of light
intensity determines the rate of photocatalytic reaction
(Zangeneh et al. 2015). Under ultraviolet–visible light, ZnO
nanoparticles degrade different dyes such as methylene blue
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Environmental Chemistry Letters
(MB), crystal violet and methyl orange (MO), as compared
to degussa P25 dye. So, ZnO was suggested as dye photosen-
sitization in visible light, which improve the charge carrier
segregation (Li et al. 2010). In the process, the excited dye
molecules are transferred to covalent band and converting
these dye molecules to cationic radical (Reactions 6–10).
The series of active oxygen species produced by the interac-
tion of injected electrons with molecular oxygen adsorbed
on the surface of zinc oxide. The oxygen species are reacting
with dye molecules to cause degradation (Vinu et al. 2010;
Li et al. 2013b; Hsiao et al. 2014).
Dye + hv → Dye∗ (6)
Dye∗ + ZnO → Dye⋅+ + ZnO(e− ) (7)
ZnO(e− ) + O2 → O−⋅ (8)
2
H+
O−⋅
2
⟶ HO⋅2 + HO⋅ (9)
Dye⋅+ + reactive oxygenated radicals → products (10)
Because visible radiation accounts for 45 per cent of
solar energy, while ultraviolet light contributes for less than
ten per cent, any photocatalyst must absorb simultaneously
ultraviolet and visible light for photocatalytic efficiency and
many other realistic applications (Dhiman et al. 2018; Maaz
et al. 2009). It is critical to develop a material that really can
absorb simultaneously ultraviolet and visible light in order
to broaden the range of a photocatalyst.
ZnO‑based photocatalysts
for environmental remediation
Limitations of ZnO as photocatalyst
An ideal photocatalyst material should have some important
properties such as low bandgap structure, high redox poten-
tial, high photo-constancy, inexpensive, and abundant supply
(Zhang et al. 2010a). The majority of traditional photocata-
lyst materials have drawbacks, including poor absorption
and photo-corrosion (Lin et al. 2012). Despite its versatility,
zinc oxide-based photocatalysis is endemic for a variety of
reasons:
1. Since zinc oxide does not absorb visible light, it requires
costly ultraviolet light to excite the bandgap.
2. The difficulties associated with recovering ZnO powder
from a suspension using traditional filtration
Environmental Chemistry Letters
3. Photo-induced charges recombine quickly, reducing pho-
tocatalytic activity because charge carriers are unable to
enter the catalyst surface.
4. During the photocatalytic reaction, holes are generated
and produce photo-corrosion of ZnO. Equation 11 shows
less stability and photo-corrosion of ZnO (Han et al.
2010; Chen et al. 2012; Ong et al. 2013):
ZnO + h+ + H+ → Zn2+ + 1∕2H2 O2 (Photo - corrosion)
(11)
In addition, zinc oxide was dissolved in both acidic and
basic environment, yielding Z ­ n2+ and Zn(OH)4 (Han et al.
2010). As a result, in the case of ZnO, only restrained pH
environments are favourable for the photocatalytic synthesis
method. To address the aforementioned challenges, scien-
tists are working to improve the surface-electronic struc-
ture of ZnO, which primarily entails changing the ZnO
defect chemistry to benefit photocatalysis in ambient con-
ditions. As a result, in the last few years, this method has
made high progress as compared to other methods, but there
are more problems which remain to be addressed become
more effective and broadly received, especially for indus-
trial applications. One of the practical challenges with this
technology that needs to be addressed is long-term photo-
stability. Furthermore, surface architecture and crystallinity
are examples of material design parameters are critical and
must be taken into account during photocatalyst process-
ing. These parameters decide a material’s light absorption
behaviour, and the key challenge for investigators is to main-
tain absorption of light from the solar range. Various ways
have been investigated in this area, including doping with
metals/non-metals, interfacing with carbon-based materials,
coupling with certain other semiconductors, and so on (Ong
et al. 2018). These strategies can successfully boost ultravio-
let active photocatalysts’ visible-light absorption, resulting
in improved photocatalytic efficiency.
Doped ZnO as photocatalyst
The drawbacks of using ZnO as a photocatalyst have been
addressed in previous parts of this study. Poor photocatalytic
performance and less stability due to photo-corrosion are
the key disadvantages of pure ZnO nanomaterials. To over-
come with these drawbacks, ZnO is proposed to be doped
with other elements (Ullah and Dutta 2008). Doped ZnO has
better photocatalytic properties as doping which can influ-
ence both electrical and physical properties of the materials.
From this perspective, doping with non-metals is an appeal-
ing technique for semiconductor bandgap manufacturing, as
it can change the visible light field’s threshold wavelength.
Small bandgap is incredibly useful for effectively using the
solar energy spectrum (Anandan et al. 2007).
Yu et al. (2016b) documented that the photocatalytic effi-
ciency of nitrogen-, carbon-, and sulphur-doped ZnO is far
advanced as compared to pure ZnO. The electronic struc-
tures of pure ZnO show that the valence band is occupied by
Zn 3d (lower) and O 2p (upper) states, while the conduction
band is similarly occupied by Zn 4 s and 3p states. Because
of their p-type structure, both N and C doping have two
main properties: increasing Fermi level electron density and
adding vacant states into the bandgap. By adding impurity
states, N and C doping can boost electron excitation, and C
doping can also minimize the distance between the Fermi
level and the conduction band. The increased photocatalytic
efficiency of S-doped ZnO is due to direct bandgap. When
photo-generated electrons and holes are doped with N, C,
or S, they become lighter or heavier, respectively. C dop-
ing <<N doping << S doping << pure ZnO are all used
to calculate electron–hole pair with increase in the concen-
tration recombination frequencies (Yu et al. 2016b). It was
found that with increase in the concentration of dopant, the
bandgap of zinc oxide gets decreased (Dhiman et al. 2017).
Photocatalytic activity is expected to be low because ZnO
nanoparticles have an optical bandgap in the ultraviolet
range. However, because of the small bandgap, the absorb-
ance changes in the visible region as the Fe concentration
rise. When Fe cations are substituted in the ZnO lattice,
the atmosphere of Zn varies, affecting the electronic struc-
ture and generating oxygen vacancies. Because of trapping
of electrons via oxygen vacancies and dopant ions, elec-
tron–hole pair recombination is decreased. Electron–hole
pairs production takes place as a result of sun exposure.
Electrons are present in the valence band, and these elec-
trons are energized and transferred to the conduction band.
Electron–hole recombination is predicted as the bandgap
narrows. The donor states caused by oxygen vacancies and
intermediate zinc atoms are examples of defect locations,
as well as the acceptor states caused by zinc vacancies and
intermediate oxygen atoms are commonly due to the photo-
catalytic action of undoped ZnO.
A recent work was focussed on theoretical and experi-
mental assessment of dopant impact on photocatalytic activ-
ity of ZnO (Mohsin et al. 2021). Response surface methodol-
ogy models were applied for the optimization of the various
reaction parameters involved in the photo-degradation pro-
cess of humic acid using Fe-doped ZnO photo catalyst. The
formation of ·OH radicals via dissociation or reduction of
­H2O2 was linked to the increased rate of degradation with
increasing ­H2O2 concentration (Fig. 5a). The effect of pH
over the humic acid degradation was checked for the syn-
thesized catalysts (Fig. 5b, c, f). Under the acidic pH condi-
tions, humic acid degradation was found to increase under
the sunlight illumination. In contrary, under basic condi-
tions, the phenomenon was reversed. This behaviour was
explained in terms of protonation of catalyst surface under
13

Fig. 5  3-dimensional surface plots of response surface methodology
models showing the impact of irradiation time and H ­ 2O2 (a), ­H2O2
and pH (b), irradiation time and pH (c), ­H2O2 and humic acid con-
centration (d), Humic acid concentration and irradiation time (e) and
humic acid concentration and pH (f). (Reprinted with permission
acidic conditions and accumulation of more negative charge
on the surface under basic conditions. These experiments
confirmed the optimized pH of 7 for such experiments.
Figure 5d shows the impact of humic acid concentra-
tion variation on the photo-degradation rate. Results indi-
cated that initially there was increase in degradation rate
13
Environmental Chemistry Letters
from (Mohsin et  al. 2021) (Copyright Elsevier). Figure shows the
impact of variable reaction parameters on the photo-degradation effi-
ciency of Fe doped ZnO for the degradation of humic acid. The deg-
radation efficiency gets increased for Fe-doped ZnO deposited over
ceramic plate as photocatalyst
which thereafter decreases for some specific concentration.
Another experiment was also performed to study the influ-
ence of irradiation time on the photo-degradation rate of
humic acid (Fig. 5e). Experiment revealed that degradation
rate increases only for the 5-h sunlight irradiation and after
that no change was observed. However, under the optimized
Environmental Chemistry Letters
reaction parameter conditions, Fe-doped ZnO deposited over
ceramic plate exhibits photo-degradation efficiency two
times higher than pure ZnO.
In a reported work, researchers have synthesized carbon-
doped zinc oxide in which the C atoms were replaced with
Zn ions, which was confirmed by X-ray photo-electron spec-
troscopy investigation (Zhang et al. 2015). Carbon-doped
ZnO is capable of absorbing more light and results into low-
ering of the bandgap between 3.19 and 2.72 eV (bare ZnO).
The lower bandgap energy of carbon-doped ZnO improves
the photocatalytic efficiency. Furthermore, the reduced
photoluminescence strength in C-doped ZnO confirms the
inhibited recombination of photo-generated charge carri-
ers. Carbon-doped ZnO is prepared for the degradation of
methylene blue dye under visible-light irradiation. By elimi-
nating the adsorbed oxygen in the photocatalytic mixture,
photo-generated electrons from conduction band produce
oxidizing ­O2·, which is suitable for the improved degrada-
tion in case of carbon-doped ZnO nanomaterial. Because of
doping, segregation of photo-generated charge carriers is
improved, where active OH· produced from H ­ 2O and ­H2O
are the region of degradation (Zhang et al. 2015). Basically,
ZnO doped with metal or non-metal catalysts shows high
photocatalytic performance, so they are beneficial for hydro-
gen generation and environmental applications. Doped-ZnO
catalysts also show the absorption of broad range of solar
radiations. As a result, doping with metals and non-metals to
boost visible-light activity in ZnO photocatalysts has risen in
popularity. Recently reported various doped ZnO nanoma-
terials along with their photocatalytic efficiencies, proposed
mechanisms and irradiation time are summarized in Table 1.
ZnO coupled with other semiconductors
A nanoheterojunction is created when two semiconductor
materials are combined, affecting the surface structure and
charge transfer characteristics of the resulting photocata-
lytic system and allowing for broad spectrum absorption.
(Liu et al. 2014b). Type I, Type II, Z-Scheme system, and
Schottky junction system are the several types of photocata-
lytic systems (Su et al. 2018). Figure 6a–d contains diagram-
matic representation of all four types of heterojunctions.
Type I In a type I nanoheterojunction, the valance band
and conduction bandgap of a semiconductor having a large
band are capable of enclosing the conduction band and
valence band levels of a semiconductor with less bandgap.
Photo-generated charge carriers can flow across advanta-
geous potentials, such as electrons down potential and holes
up potential. Photo-generated charge carriers build on one
of the semiconductor materials in such nanoheterojunctions,
which is not conducive to photocatalytic activity (Jiang et al.
2015).
Type II In type II nanohetrojunction, the bandgaps of two
semiconductors, for example, A and B, are aligned. So, in
case of B semiconductor conduction band is negative than
A semiconductor, and in case of B semiconductor valence
band is less positive than A semiconductor. As a result, the
charge carriers are transferred from conduction band of A
semiconductor to B semiconductor and holes are transferred
from valence band of A semiconductor to B semiconduc-
tor, and the results show the significant charge segregation
throughout the photocatalytic procedure (Kumar et al. 2020).
The p–n junction is the Type II system, which is made up
of alternating p- and n-type photocatalysts (Moniz et al.
2015; Xu et al. 2015). By virtue of the differences in elec-
tronic structures between p- and n-type materials, photo-
excited electrons accumulate at the n-type side’s coupling
contact and holes accumulate in the p-type component. As
a result, just at the interface, electrons and holes create a
gradient, encouraging charge carrier transit while inhibiting
photo-generated electron and hole recombination, therefore
encouraging efficient solar energy conversion. (Zhao et al.
2016).
Z-Scheme system The Z-scheme system, which is based
on the photosynthesis in plants, is a useful method for
photo-induced charge segregation. To align the bands in
this method, two semiconductors are used. To produce the
separation of photo-induced electron–hole pairs and water
splitting, a photocatalyst with water reduction or oxidation
activity can be employed to one side of the Z-scheme (Ma
et al. 2017a; She et al. 2017). Charge transfer occurs in these
heterojunctions in the same way that it does in type II hetero-
junctions, with electrons accumulating in one semiconduc-
tor's conduction band and holes accumulating in the other,
favouring photocatalytic activity.
Schottky junction system In this system to arrange the
Fermi energy levels, electrons can move from the pho-
tocatalyst to the co-catalyst over the interface (Ran et al.
2017). As a result, the co-catalyst has an overabundance of
negative charges, whereas the semiconductor has positive
charges close to the interface. As a result, a space charge
layer forms at the interface, and the semiconductor’s con-
duction band and valence band are bent upward. The crea-
tion of a Schottky junction between the semiconductor and
the co-catalyst is caused by this space charge layer. As a
result, the Schottky junction can behave as an electron trap,
capturing photo-induced electrons efficiently and increasing
photocatalytic activity (Meng et al. 2013; Jiang et al. 2015;
Xu et al. 2015; Peng et al. 2016; Wang et al. 2016b; Ma et al.
2017b; Ran et al. 2017).
13
 Environmental Chemistry Letters

Table 1  Doped ZnO nanomaterials for photo-degradation of organic pollutants

Photocatalysts Light Targeted Degradation effi- Mechanism References
source pollutant ciency/irradiation
time

Ce-doped ZnO Ultraviolet Direct 99.5% and 70 min Kumar et al. (2015)
red-23

Mn-doped ZnO Solar and Orange II 75% and 240 min Achouri et al. (2016)
visible
light

Na-doped ZnO Solar light Rhoda- 84.4% and 120 min Tabib et al. (2017)
mine B

(In-Mg-doped ZnO Ultraviolet Orange II 88.5% and 20 min Benzitouni et al. (2018)

13
Environmental Chemistry Letters

Table 1  (continued)
Photocatalysts Light Targeted Degradation effi- Mechanism References
source pollutant ciency/irradiation
time

Gd-doped ZnO Visible Methylene 93% and 90 min Selvaraj et al. (2019)
light blue

Na-doped ZnO Sunlight Methylene 99.5% and 1.5 h Elsayed et al. (2020)
blue

Reproduced with the permission from (Kumar et  al. 2015) Copyright Elsevier, (Achouri et  al. 2016) Copyright Elsevier, (Tabib et  al. 2017)
Copyright Elsevier, (Benzitouni et al. 2018) Copyright Elsevier, (Dhiman et al. 2019) Copyright Elsevier, (Selvaraj et al. 2019) Copyright Else-
vier, (Elsayed et al. 2020) Copyright Elsevier. The table presents some previously reported doped ZnO nanomaterials which have been utilized
as photocatalyst for the degradation of some specific organic pollutants. The degradation efficiency and plausible mechanism involved in the
degradation process are also illustrated
CB conduction band, VB valence band, MB methylene blue, RhB rhodamine B, ORII orange II

Heterojunctions based on ZnO/carbonaceous
materials
As we all know, carbon is a reasonably safe, inexpensive,
and stable element in nature. Carbon nanostructures can
be used as supports for ZnO and their co-catalysts because
they have large specific surface area, chemical stability,
and conductivities (Low et al. 2016; Kumar et al. 2018c;
Bahuguna et al. 2019; Sengottaiyan et al. 2019). Addition-
ally,  the  dimensionally  restricted  carbon-based  materi-
als help with semiconductor nanostructures, which is ben-
eficial for improved photocatalytic applications (Low et al.
2016).
Because of features such as a good bandgap, limited
visible-light mobility, and great chemical and thermal
robustness, graphitic carbon nitride is a unique material for
photocatalysis (Kumar et al. 2018a, 2021a). Graphitic car-
bon nitride does have a bandgap of 2.7 eV that enables it
to absorb visible light efficiently (Kumar et al 2021b). The
right location of band edges implies that graphitic carbon
nitride is a great alternative for hydrogen production (Martin
et al. 2014). g-C3N4 nanosheets are often utilized as visible-
light photocatalysts for the degradation of organic/inorganic/
pharmaceutical contaminants or water disassociation (Chen
et al. 2014). Graphitic carbon nitride has also been investi-
gated as a potential metal-free photocatalyst due to its strong
absorption of visible light and a bandgap. However, the
applicability of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is limited
by the photo-generated charge carriers’ rapid recombination
rate (Mousavi and Habibi-Yangjeh 2016, 2017).
Sun et al. used a simple calcination procedure to make
g-C3N4/ZnO composites with different ZnO weight ratios,
which resulted in a threefold increase in methyl orange deg-
radation (Sun et al. 2012). Yang et al. (Yang et al. 2020) pre-
pared g-C3N4/ZnO nanosheets for methylene blue dye deg-
radation. Under visible-light irradiation, the optimized ethyl
cellulose-modified g-C3N4 was inserted in ZnO nanosheets
as a co-catalyst to degrade methylene blue. These optimized

13

Fig. 6  Diagrammatic representation of type I (a), type II (b),
Z-scheme (c) and Schottky heterostructure (d) systems. The figure
shows all possible ways of photo-generated carrier’s charge transfer
routes between two different potential photocatalyst materials. In fig-
ure, CB refers to conduction band and VB refers to valence band
co-catalysts had the maximum degradation efficiency of
99.9% and degrades methylene blue within 15 min of irra-
diation. In the co-catalyst, improved ethyl cellulose/g-C3N4
works as effective electron-transfer channels, promoting
charge separation and thereby improving the photocatalytic
efficiency of methylene blue degradation (Yang et al. 2020).
Recently, Liu et al. (2019a) fabricated nitrogen-doped
ZnO and g-C3N4 nanosheets using hydrothermal technique.
The morphological analysis demonstrated the formation
of nitrogen-doped ZnO wrapped around graphitic carbon
nitride, resulting in close heterojunction connections. When
compared to bare catalysts, nanocomposites had a higher
rate of ­H2 evolution (152.7 mol ­h−1). Z-scheme photo-cat-
alyst is achieved by combining nitrogen-doped ZnO and
g-C3N4, and in this process, the photo-generated electrons
are transferred from conduction band of nitrogen-doped
ZnO to valence band of carbon nitride to prevent recombi-
nation. The charge of photons of nitrogen-doped ZnO and
g-C3N4 gets enhanced by utilizing both ultraviolet and vis-
ible regions; as a result, the nanocomposite has a longer light
13
Environmental Chemistry Letters
absorption response, which is helpful for hydrogen produc-
tion and photocatalytic activity (Liu et al. 2019a).
ZnO heterostructures based on graphene
and derivatives
Graphene was initially found in the year of 2004, and this
material has different chemical or physical properties. Gra-
phene, a single-atom-layer carbon allotrope with no band-
gap (Novoselov et al. 2004) and the bandgap of graphene
oxide, is ̴ 3 eV. Graphene oxide is a semiconductor made
from graphene with a thickness of less than 10 atom lay-
ers. Number of researchers has fabricated graphene or gra-
phene oxide nanomaterials via Hummer’s method (Tyagi
et al. 2021; Yaqoob et al. 2021). Because of its high strength,
high conductivity, and vast surface area, graphene is a great
pick for catalysis and electronics (Yang et al. 2013; Ahmed
et al. 2018). Graphene is used as maintainer and an electron
carter in photocatalytic applications. The reduced grapheme
oxide’s (RGO's) conduction band (~ 0.52 eV) is more nega-
tive potential than E (­ H2/H2O) = 0 eV; hence, it plays a key
role in hydrogen evolution (Robertson et al. 2014). Graphene
is a suitable co-catalyst for hydrogen evolution processes due
to its high work function. As a result, researchers are widely
using this material for hydrogen production and environ-
mental remediation because of it is advantageous properties.
Luo et al. (2012) successfully developed hybrids based
on graphene oxide and hierarchical ZnO hollow spheres that
had a 67% faster rate of photo-degradation of methylene blue
dye and a 5-time greater than pure ZnO (Luo et al. 2012).
Kumar and group described a graphene derivatives that com-
bined with ZnO for asbestos removal (Kumar et al. 2018b).
Impressed with the outstanding photo-stability property,
they synthesized graphene quantum dot (GQD) with suitable
bandgap energy and developed ZnO-GQD heterojunction
for the degradation of methylene blue dye and carbenda-
zim pollutants to take use of the aforementioned features of
grapheme quantum dot. The modified heterojunction with 2
wt.% graphene quantum dot-adorned ZnO nanorods showed
high photo-degradation percentage, i.e. 95% obtained within
70 min of natural daylight irradiation (Kumar et al. 2018b)
(Fig. 7).
In other work, graphene oxide/Zn nanocomposite was
synthesized by one pot technique and the doping effect
was studied on the nanocomposite. The Ag-doped graph-
eme oxide/Zn showed high photo-degradation efficiency
(100% within 40 min) for the removal of methylene blue as
compared to Cu-doped grapheme oxide/Zn nanocomposite
(Al-Rawashdeh et al. 2020). Beura and Thangadurai (2017)
fabricated grapheme-based ZnO nanoparticles and studied
their environmental applications (Beura and Thangadurai
2017). In their results, grapheme–ZnO nanocomposites
exhibit a greater photo-degradation of the dye as compared
Environmental Chemistry Letters
Fig. 7  Charge transmission in
a zinc oxide-graphene quantum
dot heterojunction during ultra-
violet irradiation for pollutants
deterioration (Reproduced with
permission from Kumar et al.
2018b) Copyright Elsevier.
The figure also demonstrates
the hydroxyl radical generated
through degradation of hydro-
gen peroxide as active species
taking part in mineralization
process
to pure ZnO. Additionally, it shows that to achieve an ele-
vated rate of deterioration, both the photoluminescence lifes-
pan and the material’s surface area played a key role, and
both should be high/optimal. The rate of recombination of
produced charged carriers is inversely related to the mate-
rial’s lifespan. As a result, grapheme–ZnO nanocomposites
could be a promising choice for photocatalytic applications,
particularly in environmental protection. All major findings
including complete band structure and plausible mechanism
are shown in Fig. 8a–c.
Coupling of ZnO with metal oxides
ZnO clubbed with the number of metal oxides is found to be
most promising host material for photocatalysis. Recently,
methyl orange dye degradation was driven by the ternary
nanocomposite ZnO/TiO2–SnO2 produced via sol–gel tech-
nique. The prepared sample was calcined at 500 °C for 3 h.
At high calcination temperatures (650–700 °C), the produc-
tion of low active phases decreased the composite’s activ-
ity (Yang et al. 2012). ZnO/TiO2, a binary nanocomposite
was synthesized via tape casting and lamination method and
calcined at 600 °C and 700 °C for 3 h reported by Konyar
and team. At low temperature, i.e. 600 °C, inter-dispersal
between ZnO and T ­ iO2 decreased and results into production
of binary compounds, which are very effective for photo-
catalysis (Konyar et al. 2012). Therefore, calcinations tem-
peratures play a major factor for the fabrication of desired
material and the morphology of materials has an important
factor in regulating photocatalytic activity, as per the litera-
ture survey (Yu et al. 2014b). From this perspective, Zhou
and group fabricated ­Cux/ZnO@Au nanocomposite using
hydrothermal and sequential hierarchical assembly to create
multi-component heterostructures (Zhou et al. 2015).
Figure 9a–c clearly shows the strong interaction between
zinc oxide or copper oxide, according to high-resolution
TEM images, elemental mapping, and transmission elec-
tron microscopy analysis of C ­ ux/ZnO@Au heterostructure.
In addition, for solar spectrum applications, a blend of wide
and narrow bandgap semiconductor ZnO (3.2 eV) and CuO
(1.4 eV) is being used. Under visible-light irradiation, the
hybrid nanostructures were employed for water splitting
photocatalytic applications (Zhou et al. 2015). Similarly,
zinc oxide/tin oxide (ZnO/SnO2) nanocomposites were fab-
ricated by two facial approaches: sol–gel and electrospinning
approach for the photocatalytic decomposition of different
organic contaminants. ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposites show
high photo-degradation percentage of rhodamine B organic
contaminant as compared to ZnO and ­SiO2 nanoparticles,
because of its stability and large surface area (Zhang et al.
2010b). A well-known approach for improving photo-deg-
radation activity is the combination of wide bandgap and
narrow bandgap structures. The n-ZnO/p-CaFe2O4 hetero-
junction nanocomposite was prepared via ball milling tech-
nique and has been proposed for photocatalytic applications.
The timing of ball milling altered the photocatalytic perfor-
mance. The n-ZnO/p-CaFe2O4 nanocomposite showed great
catalytic activity as compared to pure zinc oxide nanoparti-
cles. The photo-induced electron–hole pairs were segregated
by the internal electric field as the p–n junction photocatalyst
n-ZnO/p-CaFe2O4 was formed, and the photocatalytic activ-
ity is considerably increased (Shifu et al. 2009).
Recently, Yu and group (Yu et al. 2019) have coupled
ZnO with metal oxide (CuO, F ­ e2O3 and C­ o3O4) and the
films were fabricated. CuO/ZnO, F ­ e2O3/ZnO, and C
­ o 3O 4/
13
 Environmental Chemistry Letters

Fig. 8  Mechanism of photocata-
lytic reactions taking place in
a zinc oxide; b graphene-zinc
oxide; and c band diagram for
graphene-zinc oxide (Repro-
duced with permission from
Beura and Thangadurai 2017)
Copyright Elsevier. The figure
shows the band alignment of the
conduction as well valence band
along with the possible charge
flow taking part in mineraliza-
tion process. In figure, CB
refers to conduction band and
VB refers to valence band

Fig. 9  a Transmission electron

micrographs and b high-
resolution transmission electron
micrographs and c elemental
mapping images of a specific
Cu/ZnO@Au (Reproduced with
permission from (Zhou et al.
2015) Copyright American
Chemical Society. The trans-
mission micrographs show the
rod like structure formation
anchored with gold nanopar-
ticles

13
Environmental Chemistry Letters

ZnO films have hierarchical chocolate-stick, and chrysan-

themum-like morphologies has been proposed for degra-
dation of orange II under visible-light illumination. Within
360 min, the CuO/ZnO has best visible-light-driven photo-
degradation efficiency, i.e. 41.8% as compared to other
nanocomposite such as ­Co3O4/ZnO (39.3%) and ­Fe2O3/ZnO
(28.4%). When compared to pure ZnO, the heterostructured
films had a higher visible absorption. The CuO/ZnO film
shows maximum photo-degradation performance for orange
II dye when exposed to ultraviolet light, which is probable
because of the optimum heterojunction formed between CuO
and ZnO, which is favourable of charge transfers.
According to the reports mentioned above, ZnO coupled
with other semiconductor materials shows improvement in
photocatalytic efficiency for the elimination of contaminants.
One of the most important variables in attaining the opti-
mum performance is oxide semiconductor with acceptable
bandgap, which effect the segregation and transfer of photo-
generated charges. Nevertheless, the photocatalytic activity
of ZnO metal oxide nanocomposites still needs to be more
explored and improved.

ZnO combined with noble metal nanoparticles

Metal oxide-based nanomaterials are well-designed mate-

rials that have inspired a lot of interest due to their large
range of potential applications (Sarina et al. 2013). The
presence of metal nanoparticles on a semiconductor surface
is advantageous because particle size may be manipulated
autonomously, resulting in an extremely narrow size distri-
bution. Metal nanoparticles are thought to modify reactive
sites, while the lodged noble metal acts as a catalyst for the
degradation of contaminants (Zheng et al. 2008). The sur-
face plasma resonance occurrence facilitates in visible-light
absorption as well as charge segregation in noble metals, for
example, Au, Ag, Pd, Pt, and so on. As a result, noble met-
als are combined with other semiconductor nanomaterials
such as zinc oxide (Takahata et al. 2018). Chauhan et al.
(2020a) prepared pure ZnO and Ag-ZnO nanoparticles by
green method using plant extract (Cannabis sativa leaves),
and these nanoparticles were used for the removal of organic
contaminations. Under solar light, Ag-doped ZnO and bare
ZnO nanoparticles eliminated 96% as well as 38% of congo
red and 94% and 35% of methyl orange within 80 min shown
in Fig. 10a or b.
When comparing undoped ZnO with Ag-doped ZnO,
Ag-ZnO shows the best photocatalytic activity, and
Fig. 10c shows the mechanism of photocatalysts reaction
of ZnO or Ag-ZnO nanoparticles. The deposited metal ions
consume electrons, slowing recombination. As a result,
the proportions of electrons in the conduction band were
used to create superoxide radicals rather than recombin-
ing with holes (Chauhan et al. 2020a). Simon and group
Fig. 10  Photocatalytic degradation of a congo red dye and b methyl
orange using silver doped zinc oxide and pure zinc oxide and c
mechanism of photocatalysts of Ag-ZnO nanoparticles (Reprinted
with permission from ref. (Chauhan et  al. 2020a) Copyright 2020
Nature), d mechanistic illustration of photoreduction of 4-nitrophe-
nol by zinc phosphate glasses (ZPG) nanocomposites under natural
sunlight irradiation (Reproduced with permission from Kumar et  al.
2018d)Copyright Elsevier. Figure shows the suitable conduction and
valence positions of zinc oxide facilitate the electron transfer zinc
oxide to reduced graphene oxide. In figure, CB refers to conduction
band and VB refers to valence band
used a plasma-assisted process to make silver-zinc oxide
nanocomposites (Simon et al. 2011). For the growth of pure
zinc oxide, plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition
was used and on the other side pure silver nanoparticles
were fabricated using radio frequency sputtering method.
Under ultraviolet–visible irradiation, pure zinc oxides were
compared with silver-zinc oxide nanocomposites for the
hydrogen production. Silver-zinc oxide nanocomposites
show improved photocatalytic activity because of photo-
generated charges carrier movement. The results emphasize
the significance of silver nanoparticles in nanocomposites,
as their existence causes a Schottky barrier to form at the
metal–semiconductor junction. As a result, the Ag nanopar-
ticles are preventing photo-generated electrons from recom-
bination with holes. Besides these studies, there are many

13

reports in the literature that describing the use of metal semi-
conductor nanostructures for hydrogen production and envi-
ronmental applications such as photo-degradation of various
contaminants (Kumar et al 2022).
Hydrothermal fabrications followed by ultrasonic
treatment were used to create Pt-loaded ZnO-RGO (Zinc
oxide-reduced graphene oxide) nanocomposites. The ideal
deposition of platinum nanoparticles in zinc oxide-reduced
grapheme oxide nanocomposites was 5 wt.%, and the
associated catalyst improved photocatalytic properties for
4-nitrophenol reduction. Under the same testing conditions,
the improved ZnO-RGO-Pt nanocomposite had six times
higher photo catalytic properties as compare to its binary
counterpart. The Pt loading causes the creation of a Schottky
contact between ZnO and Pt, where photogenerated charge
transfer occurs from ZnO's conduction band to Pt nanopar-
ticles, enhancing the reduction of 4-nitrophenol as shown
in Fig. 10d. As a result, adding Pt nanoparticles to a hetero-
junction improves charge transfer, which is favourable for
the photocatalytic activity (Kumar et al. 2018d). In another
work, Au–ZnO nanocomposites show high photo-degra-
dation efficiency of rhodamine B dye as compared to pure
ZnO nanostructures. There are several factors that indicate
that Au-ZnO nanocomposite has high photocatalytic activ-
ity such as large surface area, interspaces, stability of the
material, and increased charge segregation. Furthermore, the
high efficiency of the Au-doped ZnO hybrid nanostructure
is highly recommended nanomaterials for environmental
applications (Ahmad et al. 2011).
According to the studies discussed above, combining
ZnO with metal nanoparticles has a synergistic impact
that improves visible-light absorption and charge carrier
segregation.
ZnO‑based binary nanoheterostructures
To get the desired application from the nanoheterostructure
depends upon the surface charge sharing (Liu et al. 2019b)
which can control the energy bandgap of the nanohetero-
structure, thus enhancing the quality photocatalytic proper-
ties of the prepared material. The amalgamation of n-type
and p-type semiconductors for nanocomposites gives a novel
strategy for merging distinct physicochemical properties of
particular compounds into a single component system (Yu
et al. 2014a). The p–n-type heterojunction is a heterojunc-
tion in which n-type semiconductor serves as donor and a
p-type semiconductor is considered as acceptor (Kumar et al
2021c). In p-type semiconductors, where holes are the domi-
nant carriers, and the Fermi level resides in close proximity
of valence band and in case of n-type semiconductor the
Fermi level is close to conduction band. The concentration
of electrons as carriers is greater than that of holes (Wu et al.
2019). The Fermi level of these heterojunctions is changed
13
Environmental Chemistry Letters
from higher energy level to low energy level until the equi-
librium level is reached. It means, the diminution layer is
generated when p–n interaction happened, which is separate
from the development of an electric field by the junction of
n-type and p-type semiconductors (Chang et al. 2016).
For that reason, the photogenerated electrons and holes
will diffuse out of the diminution layer due to the electric
field generated by the stimulation of negative and positive
charges on the p-sides and n-sides (Mamba and Mishra
2016). Furthermore, the photoinduced electrons/holes cou-
ples are separated by the integrated electrical force. As a
result, photogenerated electrons shifted to the semiconduc-
tor with more positive in conduction band, and on the other
side holes in the heterojunction arrangement shifted to the
semiconductor with more negative in valence band (Wang
et al. 2014a). Charges are transported in a certain manner
depending on how the two unitary semiconductors are ori-
ented. This inhibits photoinduced electrons/holes couples
from recombining and thereby increases the total charge
transfer performance in the reaction and increases the charge
carriers’ lifespan.
As a result, a favourable environment is created for the
designing of most efficient photocatalysts for employment
in photocatalysis reactions (Li et  al. 2015d). There are
numbers of benefits of p-n heterojunction: charge transfer,
long life, segregation of spatially unsuitable reduction and
oxidation reactions and many more, which is suitable for
many applications in the field of environment. As a result, a
carefully designed ZnO-based p–n heterostructure can pro-
vide advantageous photo-electrochemical applications. ZnO
was formerly thought to be a photocatalytic semiconductor
that responds to ultraviolet light. Broad bandgap (3.37 eV),
good catalytic activity, cheap manufacturing costs, and envi-
ronmental friendliness, all of these properties make ZnO
suitable candidate (Verma et al. 2018). Nevertheless, by
virtue of its lack of ability to absorb visible light, which
accounts for ̴ 43% of the spectrum of the sun its applicability
is limited. The employment of ZnO as a solar-light recep-
tive photocatalysts is quiet restricted. As a result, modify-
ing the ZnO surface to improve its optical characteristics is
required. For the preparation nanocomposite, ZnO was com-
bined with small-size band-gap semiconductor because this
type of nanocomposite photoluminescence emission inten-
sity when increasing light absorption (Mittal et al. 2016),
which is a measure of electron–hole recombination control.
CuO semiconductor is believed to be an ideal choice for
p–n heterojunction synthesis with ZnO (Taufik et al. 2015;
Wang et al. 2017a). Due to the high recombination rate of
the photogenerated electrons/holes couples, pure CuO has
a reduced photocatalytic activity. As a result, when charge
carriers are shifted from CuO to ZnO, the amalgamation of
CuO and ZnO could result in highest catalytic efficiency.
Because ZnO’s conduction and valence bands are lower than
Environmental Chemistry Letters
those of CuO’s, this is the case, making electron–hole pair
transfers a thermodynamically advantageous procedure. Pal
et al. (2015) demonstrated a simple and practical technique
for large-scale production of ZnO/CuO heterostructures and
used for methylene orange and rhodamine B dye degrada-
tion. Nanocomposite heterostructures produced from ZnO/
CuO nanoparticles showed higher photo-degradation activ-
ity compared to their pure counterparts. This nanocomposite
could degrade 98% of methyl orange dye within 280 min,
and removal efficiency of rhodamine B dye is 98% within
400 min when exposed to visible light.
Cho et al. (2011) fabricated ZnO/ZnSe heterostructures
by simple solution-based surface-modification reactions.
When compared to pure ZnO structures, the visible-light
photocatalytic activities of ZnO/ZnSe heterostructures were
much greater due to the absorption of visible light by ZnSe
nanoparticles and the enhanced charge-carrier transport of
type II heterostructures. An ecologically benign semicon-
ductor ZnSe was discovered to be an ideal for enhancing
the photocatalytic capability of ZnO, because of its nar-
row bandgap, i.e. 2.67 eV and its valence or conduction
band arrangements. These advantages of ZnSe account for
its potential to improve ZnO-mediated photocatalysis by
increasing the use of energy source while reducing the rate
of electron–hole recombination.
Dhiman et  al. (2020b) prepared ZnO/Fe 2O 3 binary
nanocomposite by using solution combustion method and
reported that ZnO/Fe2O3 binary heterojunction nanomaterial
is stable and reusable as well as capable of photocatalytic
contaminations removal in both visible and natural light.
The junction has the best photoreduction efficiency, i.e. 88%
within 90 min for Cr (VI) under visible light and 100% dimi-
nution in 45 min using tartaric acid as a conciliatory agent.
The effects of scavengers and sacrificial agents indicate that
photogenerated electrons were the most active species, fol-
lowed by super oxide radical. Under visible light and solar
light, the conduction band edges have enough capacity to
reduce hexavalent chromium. The photoluminescence and
electrochemical impedance in the heterojunction indicate
low recombination and high charge segregation. There is
the transport of electrons from F ­ e2O3's conduction band to
ZnO's with a high sufficient negative potential to decrease
Cr (VI). In addition, flaws such as F ­ e2O3's low conductiv-
ity and ZnO’s high bandgap are eliminated in the junction.
This research found that common semiconductors such as
ZnO and F ­ e2O3 have sufficient possibility in double roles as
electrochemical sensors or photocatalysts, with the optimum
production when the circumstances and ratios are optimized
(Dhiman et al. 2020b).
A combination of the sol–gel procedure and electro-
spinning technology was used to make one-dimensional
ZnO/SnO2 nanofibres (Zhang et al. 2010b). The compos-
ite nanofibres’ photocatalytic activity for rhodamine B
degradation was substantially higher than that of ZnO and
­SnO2 nanofibres fabricated using electronspun. Due to their
one-dimensional nanostructural characteristics, the mixed-
oxide samples were efficiently recycled without degrad-
ing their photoactivity (Zhang et al. 2010b). Zhang et al.
(2012) developed ZnO/CuO composite with colloidal car-
bon spheres. The samples were more successful than pure
ZnO hollow spheres at photocatalytic decolourization of a
methylene blue aqueous solution (Zhang et al. 2012). There
are number of components that influence the heterojunction
photocatalysts performances such as pH, concentration of
pollutant, and photocatalysts concentrations. One of them is
the pH of the solution, which has a considerable impact on
the photocatalysts surface charge characteristics (Zeghioud
et al. 2016). In 2019, Yi and group prepared ZnO@Ag3PO4
core–shell nanocomposite by combining three methods, i.e.
magnetron sputtering, hydrothermal growth, and stepwise
deposition. Solar cells, expeditious photoelectric switches,
sensors, and other fields can be accessed from ZnO@
Ag3PO4 nanocomposite heterostructure (Yi et al. 2019).
Chiu et al. (2010) used a seed-mediated growth approach
to create F ­ e3O4/ZnO core–shell heterostructures in non-
hydrolytic states with regulated thermal pyrolysis of zinc
acetate, allowing for the development of a ZnO layer on the
surface of ­Fe3O4 seeds. A 0.6 T magnet can simply separate
this ­Fe3O4/ZnO core–shell heterostructure, and it has a lot
of potential as a photocatalysts.
Height et al. (2006) state that the Ag/ZnO nanocompos-
ites manufactured by flame pyrolysis spray technique and
wet chemical technique were investigated for photocatalytic
destruction of methylene blue dye under ultra violet irradia-
tion. The crystalline sizes of Ag/ZnO of two different meth-
ods were identified as 5–20 nm and 8–25 nm, respectively.
With the ideal condition of 3 wt.% Ag/ZnO in a 5/5 flame
condition the Ag/ZnO manufactured by flame pyrolysis spray
technique demonstrates greater photocatalytic efficiency as
compared to Ag/ZnO manufactured by wet chemical tech-
nique (Height et al. 2006). The photocatalytic performance
of ZnO–TiO2 nanohybrids was checked for the destruction
of three organic compounds, i.e. oxytetracycline (OTC),
methylene blue, and rhodamine 6G (R6G). Under sunlight
irradiation, the photocatalytic performance of ZnO–TiO2
nanoheterojunctions was found to be extraordinarily high,
with 90.3% of oxytetracycline, 98.4% of methylene blue dye,
and 81.3% of rhodamine 6G dye in only 8 min, 6 min, and
30 min, respectively. Due to extreme high density of the
synergistic effect between ZnO and T ­ iO2, the recombination
rate is effectively reduced and the charge separation process
is enhanced, leading to enhanced photo-degradation activity.
The results of this work show that diverse morphologies of
ZnO–TiO2 nanohybrids modulate the heterojunction density
(Singh et al. 2020) (Fig. 11a–f). The possible mechanism is
demonstrated in Fig. 11g.
13

Fig. 11  Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of sample a–f
at different magnification and g scheme for the zinc oxide-titanium
dioxide photocatalyst revealing the mechanism involved in photo-
degradation of pollutant under sunlight (Reproduced with permission
from Singh et al. 2020) Copyright Elsevier. The figure shows the cre-
ation of photo-generated charge carriers, charge transfer and miner-
alization of organic dyes. In figure, CB refers to conduction band and
VB refers to valence band
The high rate of e­ −/h+ pair recombination prevents pure
BiOI from being used in photocatalytic processes. As a
result, it is necessary to improve its photocatalytic effec-
tiveness for realistic purposes. In this regard, using solvo-
thermal technique for the formation of BiOI@ZnO het-
erostructure the prepared samples were used for the water
splitting and photo-degradation applications (Kuang et al.
2015). ZnO/BiOI binary nanocomposites showed the highest
photo-degradation activity for congo red dye (93.66% within
120 min) as compared to BiOI thin film or ZnO. Spinel ferri-
tes ­(MFe2O4, M: Cu, Mg, Mn, Zn, etc.) are extremely impor-
tant because they have stable magnetic properties in both
heat and chemical fluctuations.
Because of their high photocatalytic activity, ­CuFe2O4
nanoparticles have been frequently used in photocatalytic
applications (Lu et al. 2016a), by virtue of which the com-
bination of zinc oxide and copper ferrite nanoparticles has
been proven to be an effective tool for improving the dis-
sociation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers
13
Environmental Chemistry Letters
while extending absorption in the visible range. Further-
more, ferrites' magnetic properties can be advantageous for
magnetically recovering the photocatalyst when an external
magnetic field is applied (Rameshbabu et al. 2016).
Ternary ZnO‑based nanoheterostructures
As mentioned in the preceding sections, ZnO-based binary
nanocomposites are potential candidate for photocatalytic
applications. Aside from binary nanocomposites, ternary
composites have also piqued researchers' interest in devel-
oping innovative composites with elevated photocatalytic
activity under visible light. The development of ternary het-
erostructures of ZnO with diverse materials, such as ZnO/
ZnS/CuS (Liu et al. 2014a), ­Bi2O3/CeO2/ZnO (Hezam et al.
2017), AgBr/ZnO/RGO (Wang et al. 2016a), and ZnO/ZnS/
Ag2S (Zamiri et al. 2014), is a significant development in the
case of photocatalysis for the deterioration of contaminants
under both visible light and solar light. The photocatalytic
activities of ternary nanocomposites are based upon vari-
ous categories: bandgap engineering, plasmonic, p–n–n and
n–n–n heterojunctions. ZnO coupled with magnetic ternary
nanocomposites is another option. ZnO-based ternary nano-
composite ZnO/rGO/polyaniline was prepared by chemical
oxidative polymerization (Wu et al. 2016a). When compared
to pure ZnO, ZnO/rGO/polyaniline showed the maximum
photo-degradation efficiency for removal of methyl orange
dye. The prepared composite is capable of degrading 100%
of dye within 60 min under the irradiation of ultraviolet
light. Figure 12a presents the detailed degradation mecha-
nism and electron transfer process. Similarly, in a recent
report, g-C3N4/Co@ZnO ternary nanocomposite has been
proposed for the photocatalytic applications (Qamar et al.
2021). The results shown in Fig. 12b are for scavenger’s
effect on photo-degradation of methylene blue. The scav-
enging experiments confirmed the presence of superoxide
radicals and hydroxyl radicals as the leading reactive species
in degradation mechanism.
Yuan and group created ZnO/g-C3N4/CeO2 ternary heter-
ostructures by forming multi-heterojunctions and study this
nanocomposite for degradation of methylene blue dye (Yuan
et al. 2017). The obtained ZnO/g-C3N4/CeO2 nanocompos-
ites were validated by the X-ray diffraction and transmission
electron microscopy analyses. In the UV–Vis absorption
spectra of the ZnO/g-C3N4/CeO2 ternary nanocomposite, a
red shift to visible light was noticed, which was related to
the existence of g-C3N4. Because the conduction band of
g-C3N4 is greater than that of ZnO or C ­ eO2, the generated
multi-heterojunction at the nanocomposite's boundary is
type II, resulting in significant charge carrier separation and
increased photoactivity. ZnO–Ag2O/protonated graphitic
carbon nitride (pg-C3N4) ternary nanocomposite has been
fabricated by calcinations and hydrothermal process and
Environmental Chemistry Letters

Fig. 12  a Figure shows the

plausible charge transfer and
involved mechanism involved
in degradation of methyl orange
via ZnO/rGO/polyaniline ter-
nary nanocomposite (Repro-
duced with permission from Wu
et al. 2016a) Copyright Else-
vier, b scavenging experiment
results for photo-degradation
of methylene blue via g-C3N4/
Co@ZnO ternary nanocompos-
ite, c photocurrent response of
ternary nanocomposite (Repro-
duced with permission from
Qamar et al. 2021) Copyright
Elsevier. Figure shows compari-
son of the photocurrent density
response of the photo catalysts
under the sunlight on/off condi-
tion as a function of time, d
the mechanism involved in the
degradation of rhodamine B via
ZnO/AgBr/Ag2CO3 (Repro-
duced with permission from
Pirhashemi and Habibi-Yangjeh
2016a) Copyright Elsevier.
Mechanism involves electron
transfer from the conduction
band of zinc oxide to silver
bromide and silver carbonate. In
figure, CB refers to conduction
band and VB refers to valence
band

studied for photocatalytic applications (Rong et al. 2016). In
visible-light irradiation for 48 min, the ciprofloxacin (CIP)
removal rate of ZnO/Ag2O/pg-C3N4 was 97.4%. On the other
side, the removal efficiency of pure ZnO, pg-C3N4, ­Ag2O,
ZnO–Ag2O, and was 8.2, 25.4, 42.3, and 69.4%, respec-
tively. The visible-light-assisted photocatalyst (g-C3N4) was
selected as the ally material of zinc oxide-silver (I) oxide—
in order to establish a ternary combination system, which is
critical for improving the efficiency of photocatalytic perfor-
mance (Rong et al. 2016). ZnO/ZnS/graphene oxide (Opoku
et al. 2017), ZnO/ZnCr2O4/g-C3N4 (Patnaik et al. 2017), and
ZnO/ZnS/g-C3N4 (Wang et al. 2014b) are some additional
newly produced visible-light-driven photocatalysts that have
shown high photo-activities for effective hydrogen evolution
in the visible area. The electronic band structure of ZnO
was preserved in these cases, resulting in strong materials
for photocatalytic water splitting. The enhanced capability
to collect catalytic synergy owing to optimistic organiza-
tion between the carbon-based compounds (for example,
graphene oxide and g-C3N4) and analogues were credited
for the ternary photocatalysts for remarkable photocatalytic
activity.
Much of the present literature on photocatalysts con-
centrates on the segregation and conveyance of photo-gen-
erated charge carriers. Developing the interface between
the used semiconductors is an excellent way to progress
the segregation, duration, or reduce recombination rate.
As a result, there are several studies which have been con-
centrated for the creation of n–n or n–p heterojunctions
by connecting two or more than two semiconductors that

13

induce inner electric fields and they can successfully man-
age electron–hole photogeneration (Wang et al. 2017b).
In recent times, investigators have found that combining a
n–n-type heterojunction with a p-type junction or n-type
semiconductor junction, they get p–n–n-type or n–n–n-
type heterojunctions with much great catalytic efficiency
as compared to p–n or n–p heterojunction. As a result,
much work is focussed on developing new and simple
ways for synthesizing ternary heterojunctions (Sancheti
and Gogate 2017). As compared to single and binary
photocatalysts, all of the examined ternary nanocompos-
ites ZnO/Ag 3VO 4/AgI (Pirhashemi and Habibi-Yangjeh
2016a), ZnO/Ag3VO4/Ag2CrO4 (Pirhashemi and Habibi-
Yangjeh 2016b), ZnO/AgI/Ag 2CO3 (Golzad-Nonakaran
and Habibi-Yangjeh 2016b), and ZnO/AgI/Ag 2 CrO 4
(Shaker-Agjekandy and Habibi-Yangjeh 2016)) demon-
strated greater catalytic performance for the elimination
of rhodamine B, methylene blue, methyl orange dyes under
visible-light irradiation. Through the creation of innova-
tive ternary nanocomposites, a simple ultrasonic-irradi-
ation approach was used to photosensitize zinc oxide by
mixing it with AgBr and A ­ g2CO3 particles. The as-syn-
thesized ZnO/AgBr/Ag 2CO3 nanocomposites possessed
optical capacity approximately across the visible range,
according to ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectra.
The ternary nanocomposite ZnO/AgBr/Ag2CO3 was used
for the degradation of rhodamine B dye and reported 99%
degradation efficiency within after 70 min of irradiation
time. The photocatalytic performance of ternary nanocom-
posites is higher than ZnO, ZnO/AgBr, and ZnO/Ag2CO3
samples, respectively, in the degradation of methylene
blue, rhodamine B, and methyl orange dye.
The ternary photocatalysts increased photocatalytic effi-
ciency by helping electron–hole pair segregation caused by
the creation of n–n heterojunctions and surface character-
istics. A plausible mechanism showing the electron–hole
pair separation is represented in Fig. 12c (Pirhashemi and
Habibi-Yangjeh 2016a). Yu and his team utilized a two-
step self-assembly approach to create a heterostructure of
CdS/Au/ZnO (Yu et al. 2013). The CdS/Au/ZnO hetero-
structure exhibit much elevated hydrogen production from
water which is 4.5 times higher as compared to CdS/ZnO
heterostructure. Ren and group prepared ZnO@Au@Cu2O
nanocomposite by three steps: electro-deposition, sputter-
ing, and second electro-deposition (Ren et al. 2015). The
gold nanoparticles interposed between ZnO and C ­ u2O sig-
nificantly increase the photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO@
Cu2O; however, efficiency lowers with the enhancement in
­Cu2O shell thickness. The outstanding catalytic behaviour
of ZnO@Au@Cu2O is ensured by the quick segregation of
electron–hole couples in the C­ u2O/ZnO interface. The par-
tial inactivation of ZnO@Au@Cu2O is caused by the damp-
ening of the electromagnetic field in the Au/Cu2O junction
13
Environmental Chemistry Letters
and much significant recombination of carriers in C ­ u2O (Ren
et al. 2015).
Golzad-Nonakaran and Habibi-Yangjeh (2016a, 2016b)
fabricated ternary ZnO/Ag3VO4/AgI nanocomposite for
the photocatalytic applications. The increased activity was
attributable to the nanocomposite's creation of tandem n–n
heterojunctions, which reduced electron–hole recombina-
tion. Ultimately, superoxide ions were discovered to be the
most prevalent reactive species in the degradation reaction
(Golzad-Nonakaran and Habibi-Yangjeh 2016a). Similarly,
to improve photocatalytic activity,  researchers prepared
ternary ZnO/NiWO4/Ag2CrO4 nanocomposite with p–n–n
heterojunction. These heterojunction materials improved the
separation between the photo-generated electron–hole pairs
and increased the visible-light capability by the advance-
ment of heterojunctions (Pirhashemi and Habibi-Yangjeh
2018). It means that the electrostatic interactions of inner
electric field produced n–n–n or p–n–n heterojunctions and
these ternary nanocomposites are highly efficient as com-
pared to binary heterojunction for significantly improved
segregation of electron/hole pairs and charge carrier lifetime.
As a result, photocatalysts with n–n–n or p–n–n heterojunc-
tions give better photocatalytic activity as compared to n–n
or p–n heterojunctions.
Zinc oxide, noble metal, or another semiconductors are
combined with each other for the generate of plasmonic
ZnO-based ternary nanocomposites (Li et al. 2013a, 2015a;
Cao et al. 2014, 2015; Naghizadeh-Alamdari et al. 2015;
Zhang et al. 2016). As a result, plasmonic photocatalysts
with high absorption in the visible region can efficiently con-
vert solar to chemical energy. As a result, they have been
recognized as promising candidates in the area of photoca-
talysis. Wu and group developed ZnO/Ag/ZnFe2O4 ternary
nanocomposites by using hollow and porous morphologies
(Wu et al. 2016a, b). Within 100 min of sunlight irradia-
tion, ZnO/Ag/ZnFe2O4 ternary nanocomposites had entirely
eliminated methylene blue dye. This was the newly intro-
duced plasmonic ternary nanocomposite that can be utilized
to purify the surroundings. The ZnO nanocomposite was
synthesized using the co-precipitation process and showed
the highest efficiency for methylene blue degradation when
exposed to visible light. This heterostructure exhibited a
high saturation magnetization of 57.2 emu/g, making mag-
netic recycling easy across multiple separation cycles (Chi-
dambaram et al. 2016).
Shen et al. (2016) have recently manufactured a unique
ternary ZnO/Ag 2 WO 4 /Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposites, which
demonstrated a 152% and 143% greater rate of antibiotic
degradation than the A ­ g 2WO 4 and ZnO photocatalysts,
respectively. Sharma et al. (2020) fabricated F ­ e3O4/ZnO/
Si3N4 ternary nanocomposite and found high degradation
efficiency. For the degradation of two dyes, sunset yel-
low and methyl orange, its catalytic performance has been
Environmental Chemistry Letters
studied. Sunset yellow and methyl orange have maximum
degradation efficiency of 90 and 96%, respectively. The
·OH radicals were discovered to be the most reactive spe-
cies. Furthermore, the ­Fe3O4/ZnO/Si3N4 (magnetite/zinc
oxide/silicon nitride) ternary nanocomposite shows poten-
tial antibacterial properties (Sharma et al. 2020). Dhi-
man and group identified the interfacial electron transfer
mechanism in solution combustion produced ZnO/Fe/Ni
nanocomposites and a photocatalyst for the breakdown of
the methylene blue dye (Dhiman et al.).
Cai et al. (2015) used a hydrothermal technique at low
temperature to manufacture magnetically separable ZnO/
Ag2O/Fe3O4 (zinc oxide/silver oxide/magnetite) photocata-
lysts. The value of saturation magnetization of magnetite and
ZnO/Ag2O/Fe3O4 is 38.9 and 1.61 emu g­ −1. The greater con-
centrations of diamagnetic ZnO and ­Ag2O in the fabricated
photocatalyst resulted in a comparatively low level of satura-
tion magnetization for the ready nanocomposites. However,
the ZnO/(Ag 2O)0.6/Fe3O4 ternary nanocomposites were
subjected to the magnet, demonstrating that the nanocom-
posite has sufficient magnetic characteristics. Because of the
electron–holes recombination hindrance, the photocatalytic
performance was increased by the good magnetic property.
After three successive runs, the nanomaterial could be mag-
netically alienated and recycled with no noticeable hammer-
ing in photoactivity. The ZnO/AgI/Fe3O4 (zinc oxide/silver
iodide/magnetite) ternary nanocomposites were fabricated
by using an ultrasonic-assisted technique. The destruction
of rhodamine B under visible-light irradiation was used to
assess the nanocomposites catalytic performance. The ZnO/
AgI/Fe3O4 nanocomposite had a 32-fold greater catalytic
performance than the ZnO/Fe3O4 sample. Additionally, this
nanocomposite demonstrated significantly increased activity
in the destruction of methylene blue and methyl orange dyes
(Shekofteh-Gohari and Habibi-Yangjeh 2016b). Similarly,
a number of ternary zinc oxide-based magnetic nanocom-
posites, such as F­ e3O4@AgBr/ZnO (Shekofteh-Gohari and
Habibi-Yangjeh 2015a), ­Fe3O4@ZnO/AgCl (Shekofteh-
Gohari and Habibi-Yangjeh 2015b), ZnO/Ag3VO4/Fe3O4
(Shekofteh-Gohari and Habibi-Yangjeh 2015c), and F ­ e 3O 4/
ZnO/NiWO4 were fabricated and examined their photo-
catalytic activity under visible light (Habibi-Yangjeh and
Shekofteh-Gohari 2017).
A narrow and matching band is one of the most criti-
cal variables in the creation of a heterojunction between
ZnO and semiconductor materials. This is a great way to
get ZnO’s spectral sensitivity into the visible range. When
we compared the single ZnO and ZnO-based binary nano-
composites, ZnO-based ternary nanocomposites show bet-
ter photocatalytic properties for degradation of different
organic/inorganic/pharmaceutical contaminants. Various
recently reported ZnO-based nanostructures are listed in
Table 2.
ZnO‑based materials for hydrogen
production
Hydrogen production has been proposed as a viable option
for demonstrate the high global energy demands. The pho-
tocatalytic splitting of water with the help of natural sun-
shine appears to be a promising technique for producing
­H2 in a clean and environmentally acceptable manner. The
semiconductor excites electrons from the valence band
position to the conduction band position after harvesting
light with a greater energy in comparison with the band-
gap energy, resulting in electron–hole pairs (Kitano and
Hara 2010). The dissociation and movement of electrons
and holes into the surface of the photocatalyst for water
splitting occur, where holes oxidize ­H2O into ­H+ and O ­ 2
gas, while electrons simultaneously decrease H ­ + to H
­ 2 gas
(Ran et al. 2014), as shown in Fig. 13a.
As a non-polluting, renewable, and cost-effective alter-
native energy source, hydrogen-based energy systems have
a bright future. They can provide high-quality energy ser-
vices in a wide range of applications (Zhou et al. 2011).
Nevertheless, most hydrogen production technologies rely
on natural gas (Zhou et al. 2011), coal (Zhou et al. 2011),
crude oil (Rana et al. 2007), or water electrolysis (Zeng
and Zhang 2010), and most of these techniques are limited
in their use due to the need for heat and electricity. As a
result of their great effectiveness in photo-driven charge
creation and segregation, heterojunction photocatalysts are
particularly propitious for solar hydrogen synthesis (Kim
and Yong 2021).
ZnO is a potential semiconductor owing to its envi-
ronmental sustainability and low cost when compared to
other binary nano-sized metal oxides. There are several
applications where the ZnO surface's reactivity is affected
by particle size (e.g. catalysts) (Kowsari 2011). Surveys
of nanocrystalline catalysts such as ZnO, CuO, T ­ iO2, and
­SrCO3 have emphasized the importance of form for photo-
catalytic performance (Kanade et al. 2007). The majority
of research has concentrated on high-bandgap semicon-
ductor oxides like ZnO, which require more energy for
photo excitation and so require ultraviolet light to form
electron–hole pairs for ­H 2 generation. Because of their
smaller bandgap, photocatalytic H ­ 2 generation by sul-
phide photocatalysts takes less energy. As a result, com-
bining wide bandgap ZnO with narrow bandgap sulphide
semiconductors has the capability to produce efficient H ­ 2
(Preethi and Kanmani 2013).
The behaviour of ZnO/ZnS nanoparticles doped with
cerium ions in photocatalytic hydrogen generation from
sacrificial polysulfides was examined by Chang et  al.
2015. From an aqueous sodium chloride solution with
sacrificial polysulfides (­ Na2S and ­Na2SO3), the optimum
13


13
Table 2  Review of work on metal-/non-metal-doped ZnO, ZnO-based binary nanocomposite, and ZnO-based ternary nanocomposite as photocatalysts
Catalyst Pollutant Degradation efficiency (%) Time (min) Light source References

Metal-/non-metal-doped ZnO
Nd-ZnO Methylene blue 98 – Ultra violet light Alam et al. (2018)
Ag-ZnO Rhodamine B 90 30 Sunlight Zhai et al. (2015)
Au-ZnO Methyl orange 100 180 300-W Xe lamp Lu et al. (2016b)
N-ZnO Rhodamine 6G 81.6 80 1000-W Xe lamp Wu et al. (2014)
C-ZnO Methylene blue 99.3 30 200-W Xe lamp Osman et al. (2016)
ZnO-based binary nanocomposite
ZnO/g-C3N4 Eriochrome black T 99 90 Ultraviolet light Ahmad (2020)
MgFe2O4/ZnO Rhodamine B 100 120 500-W Xe lamp Su et al. (2014)
ZnO/Cu2O Methylene blue 100 380 150-W Xe lamp Shi et al. (2017)
ZnO/Mn2O3 Methyl orange 95 210 250-W Xe lamp Saravanan et al. (2014)
Zn/Se Methyl orange 100 80 1-W mercury lamp Cho et al. (2012)
ZnO-based ternary nanocomposite
g-C3N4/ZnO/AgCl Rhodamine B 99 270 Ultraviolet light Akhundi and Habibi-Yangjeh (2015)
ZnO/Ag/CdO Methyl orange 90 210 Visible light Saravanan et al. (2015)
Sm2WO6/ZnO/GO Ciprofloxacin 69.92 90 Sunlight Arunpandian et al. (2020)
Methylene blue 98.24 25
ZnO/Ag/ZnFe2O4 Methylene blue 87 – Visible light Wu et al. (2016a, b)
Zn/AgBr/Ag2O3 Rhodamine B 99 70 Ultraviolet–visible light Pirhashemi and Habibi-Yangjeh (2016a)

This table focuses on the utilization of ZnO-based nanostructures for the degradation of organic dyes as pollutants
Environmental Chemistry Letters
Environmental Chemistry Letters

Fig. 13  a Water splitting using

photocatalysis via a semicon-
ductor photocatalysts loaded
with ­H2- and ­O2-evolution
co-catalysts is seen in sche-
matically, b X-ray photoelectron
spectra of Ce-doped ZnO/ZnS
photocatalysts. The spectra
indicate the presence of mixed
valence state of cerium, c
repeated experiments for the
hydrogen generation of recycled
Ce-doped ZnO/ZnS photo-
catalysts, d conduction and
valence band positions for zinc
oxide/zinc sulphide compos-
ite and cerium doped ZnO/
ZnS photocatalysts versus the
reversible hydrogen electrode
(Reproduced with permission
from Chang et al. 2015) Copy-
right Elsevier. In the figure, D
refers to electron donors; CB
refers to conduction band; VB
refers to the valence band. The
figure describes the suitability
of the undoped and Ce doped
photocatalyst as an active centre
for hydrogen production

photocatalytic hydrogen generation efficiency of Ce-
doped ZnO/ZnS photocatalysts exceeds 1200  mol/g/h.
The appearance of a mixed valence state of cerium in the
photocatalysts was revealed by X-ray photoelectron spec-
tra of ­C e 3d shown in Fig. 13b. The activity of an opti-
mized Ce-doped ZnO/ZnS photocatalyst (1200 mol/g/h)
in an aqueous NaCl solution with electron donors (­ Na2S
and ­Na2SO3) is 5.2 times high as compared to bare zinc
oxide/zinc sulphide photocatalyst. The increased activity
caused by cerium doping is due to the vacant or half-filled
cerium 4f electron configuration, which allows for quick
and repetitive oxidation/reduction cycles between C ­ e 3+
and ­Ce4+. During multiple trials, the performance of recy-
cled cerium-doped ZnO/ZnS photocatalysts (made with
0.01 M cerium nitrate) in producing hydrogen is revealed
in Fig. 13c, d. The activity loss in the recycled catalyst
is minimal. The fourth test produces 85% of the H ­ 2 pro-
duced in the first test (Chang et al. 2015).
By adding metal sulphides containing A ­ g2S, CuS, F
­ e 2S 3,
and NiS, hydrogen production using photocatalysis in the
sacrificial ­S2−, ­SO32− anions was examined. CuS/ZnS/ZnO
had 8.5-fold elevated photocatalytic efficiency for ­H2 evo-
lution as compared to ZnO. The established system could
be used to develop a strategy for developing stable and

13
 Environmental Chemistry Letters

low-cost technologies for ­H2 production (Gomathisankar
et  al. 2013). Using a one-pot thermal approach, several
single-material and composite photocatalysts based on
g-C3N4 and ZnO were produced. Doping effect of boron
was also investigated to see if it could improve photocata-
lytic hydrogen production from water photolysis. To produce
boron-doped graphitic carbon nitride/zinc oxide (g-C3N4/
ZnO), polycrystalline ZnO was immersed in amorphous
g-C3N4, and boron dopants swapped carbon atoms to pro-
duce B-N bonds in g-C3N4. The undoped heterojunction has
a Z-scheme band structure, which is known for g-C3N4/ZnO,
whereas boron-doped carbon nitride/ZnO has a type II band
alignment. The higher Fermi level of carbon nitride results
from the low electronegativity, and boron doping causes
the charge transfer mechanism to switch. The Fermi level
position of boron-doped carbon nitride exceeds that of zinc
oxide, resulting in a change of band bending direction at the
heterojunction. The electron spin resonance study confirmed
that Z-scheme is dominated by type II heterojunction charge
transfer mechanism, with results that were compatible with
those established by band structure analysis. So, the effec-
tively boron-doped ­C3N4/ZnO exhibit a 2.9-fold enhance-
ment in hydrogen production compared to the undoped sam-
ple. Because both graphitic carbon nitride and zinc oxide
have large sufficient conduction band energy to push hydro-
gen photoreduction, this demonstrates that a type II band
structure is better for hydrogen generation in this situation.
Boron-doped ­C3N4/ZnO also showed great photocatalytic
properties (Kim and Yong 2021).
To produce the required products, these holes and elec-
trons might go through a series of redox reactions on the
semiconductor’s surface.
Reduction mechanism
This is attributed to the reason that oxygen is a quickly
reducible substance, which has been used as a replacement
for hydrogen generation. Superoxide anions are formed
when electrons in the conduction band react with dissolved
oxygen molecules. These superoxide anions bind to the
oxidative reaction’s intermediate products, producing
peroxide or converting to hydrogen peroxide and finally
water. An organic material is more prone to undergoing
reduction than water. High quantities of organic matter
tend to increase positive holes. This improves photocata-
lytic activity by reducing carrier recombination (Rajesh-
war et al. 2008; Nakata and Fujishima 2012; Khan et al.
2015; Mudhoo et al. 2020). The reduction process is seen
in Fig. 14a. As a pairing reaction, oxygen in the air is
reduced (Rajeshwar et al. 2008; Rehman et al. 2009).

Reaction mechanisms

The wavelength and the catalyst are the most important fac-
tors in the photocatalytic process. Semiconducting nano-
materials, because of their electronic structure, are used as
a catalyst that functions as a sensitizer for light-triggered
redox reactions (Khan et al. 2015). The following points
are the basic stages in the semiconductor photocatalysis
method (Rajeshwar et al. 2008; Rehman et al. 2009; Khan
et al. 2015).

1. Superoxide ions are formed when electrons in the con-

duction band combine with dispersed oxygen species.
These electrons are the ones who start redox reactions.
2. It is known that when a semiconductor’s bandgap energy
is higher than or equal to that of a photon’s incident
energy, electrons of the valence band are disturbed and
shifted to the semiconductor's conduction band. This
would result in the semiconductor’s valence band being
full with holes. In the presence of water molecules, these
Fig. 14  a Reduction mechanism and b oxidation mechanism. Fig-
holes can oxidize donor molecules, producing hydroxyl ure shows the generation of active radicals and intermediate steps
radicals. involved in mineralization

13
Environmental Chemistry Letters
Oxidation mechanism
Photocatalysts have a layer of water on their surface, which
is called “absorbed water”. Holes are formed in the valence
band, when electrons transfer to the conduction band, oxidiz-
ing the water as a consequence of light irradiation, allow-
ing hydroxyl (·OH) radicals (powerful oxidative breakdown
agents) to be generated. Following that, the hydroxyl radi-
cals combine with the organic matter residing in the dyes.
Whenever oxygen is present at the time of this reaction, the
intermediate radicals in organic compounds, as well as the
oxygen molecules, may undergo radical chain reactions,
consuming oxygen in some situations. In this environment,
organic matter dissociates into carbon dioxide and water
(Rajeshwar et al. 2008; Khan et al. 2015). In this scenario,
organic molecules might react directly with holes and results
into oxidative disintegration. Figure 14b depicts the entire
oxidation process.
The pH, shape, surface area, size, and structure of the cat-
alyst, catalyst amount, reaction temperature, light intensity,
and wastewater content are all factors that influence the rate
of photo-mineralization of an organic molecule using the
photocatalysis process (Wang et al. 2007; Rajeshwar et al.
2008; Rehman et al. 2009; Saravanan et al. 2011).
Conclusion
Many researchers are now focusing on the fundamental ele-
ments of designing, refining, and using zinc oxide-based
heterostructured materials as photocatalysts for pollutant
degradation and hydrogen evolution ZnO is one of the most
intensely investigated traditional photocatalysts due to a
variety of advantageous properties, including good crys-
tallinity, high absorbance coefficient, and variable form. In
summary, the goal of this review was to assemble the pre-
existing methodologies and modifications made to date to
address the disadvantages of using pure ZnO in photocata-
lytic activity, such as low chemical and photo-stability, poor
sunlight harvesting, and a constrained active surface area. In
addition, the used preparation methods, possible application
areas, charge carrier mechanisms by distinct heterojunctions,
and their impacts on photocatalytic activity were all exten-
sively investigated. This can be achieved by connecting ZnO
with other semiconductors, doping with metal/non-metal,
or using carbon-based compounds to increase ZnO's pho-
tocatalytic activity. In general, a broad range of options for
heterojunction fabrication were introduced in the literature,
extending the potential application of ZnO in photocatalytic
operations, particularly in environmental sectors. Although,
excellent results have been produced using ZnO-based nano-
heterojunction (binary and ternary) for photocatalytic appli-
cations, there are still numerous difficulties to overcome in
terms of increasing their use. We recommend the following
perspectives for selecting and enhancing the effectiveness
of magnetically recoverable photocatalysts based on ZnO:
1. Numerous researchers are utilizing dyes as model
organic pollutants for photocatalytic degradation. In
comparison with other organic contaminants like pesti-
cides and hormone disrupting substances, dyes are quite
easy to remove. It is still necessary to learn more about
the degradation processes and how photocatalysts inter-
act with the other organic contaminants.
2. The application of ZnO-based multi-element photocata-
lysts has primarily focused on the degradation of pollut-
ants. More researches on photocatalytic ­H2 evolution,
­CO2 photoreduction, and photocatalytic immobilization
of microorganisms over ZnO-based photocatalysts are
required in the near future.
3. Despite the fact that ZnO and ZnO-based nanocompos-
ites heterostructure for photocatalytic applications have
been extensively studied in the literature, there are still
a number of challenges to overcome in terms of com-
mercializing these materials. For example, by creating
more simple synthesis procedures that do not need harsh
environments, the structural stability and surface nano-
architecture of these materials can be improved. As a
result, there is a pressing need to design soft synthetic
reversible approaches that can result in increased spe-
cific surface area and shape.
4. Another major goal for future research is to search for
simple and environmentally friendly synthesis tech-
niques for making ZnO-based photocatalysts quickly.
Systematic research is needed to create successful man-
ufacturing processes that result in pure crystal phase,
surface structure, and morphological properties, as these
qualities are strongly attributable to photocatalytic activ-
ity.
5. Research into the use of ZnO-based photocatalysts for
the oxidation of pollutants, and interior or exterior air
cleaning, should be considered.
6. Although the photocatalytic performance of nanocom-
posites of ZnO has been enhanced over ZnO, some dif-
ficulties such as multi-functional characteristics, long-
term photo-stability, and reaction discrimination for
these systems still need to be addressed. There should be
a great deal of consideration given to the reproducibility
or recyclability of photocatalytic materials, since this is
a typical issue when using nanosystems for wastewater
treatment. This difficulty has been partially solved by
mixing ZnO nanoparticles with magnetic elements or
immobilizing the photocatalyst on the specific substrate.
Nevertheless, more research is expected to investigate
their activity and their ability to separate easily.
13

7. Additionally, the photocatalytic performance of dual
phase crystal structures is a field that has yet to be stud-
ied. Therefore, research in this area is still in its early
stages, and more systematic investigations, such as
structural characterization of multi-component hybrid
structures with better electrical and optical character-
istics for highly effective and accurate photocatalysts,
are eagerly awaited. Scientists should make sure when
developing and implementing photocatalytic materials
that they should be more widely available around the
world, cost-effective, and non-toxic for clean technol-
ogy, and possibly valuable in a wide range of energy and
environmental applications.
Authors' contributions  PD designed the review, interpreted, and wrote
the original draft. GR drew the figures and tables of the manuscript.
AK contributed to the original draft. GS contributed to the original
draft. DVNV provided the technical advice and support. MN contrib-
uted to the revision of the draft.
Funding  No funding was received to assist with the preparation of
this manuscript.
Declarations  solar cells. J Phys Chem C 116(21):11413–11425. https://​doi.​
Conflict of interest  The authors declare that they have no conflicts of
interest.
Consent to participate  All authors have agreed with the content and
that all gave explicit consent to submit and participate.
Consent for publication  All authors have consent for publication.
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