ZnO is an exciting material for photocatalysis applications due to its high activity, easy accessibility of raw materials, low production costs, and nontoxic. Several ZnO nano and microstructures can be obtained, such as nanoparticles, nanorods, micro flowers, microspheres, among others, depending on the preparation method and conditions. ZnO is a wide bandgap semiconductor presenting massive recombination of the generated charge carriers, limiting its photocatalytic efficiency and stability. It is common to mix it with metal, metal oxide, sulfides, polymers, and nanocarbon-based materials to improve its photocatalytic behavior. Therefore, ZnO–nanocarbon composites formation has been a viable alternative that leads to new, more active, and stable photocatalytic systems. Mainly, graphene is a well-known two-dimensional material, which could be an excellent candidate to hybridize with ZnO due to its excellent physical and chemical properties (e.g., high specific surface area, optical transmittance, and thermal conductivity, among others). This review analyses ZnO–graphene nanocomposites’ recent advances, addressing the synthesis methods and the resulting structural, morphological, optical, and electronic properties. Moreover, we examine the ZnO–graphene composites’ role in the photocatalytic degradation of organic/inorganic pollutants.

The photosensitized oxidation of 9,10-dimethylanthracene with singlet oxygen in acetonitrile was investigated using a safranin O/silica composite as an heterogeneous delivery system of the photosensitizer. The only detected product was the corresponding endoperoxide (9,10-endoperoxianthracene) and its formation rate depended on the initial concentration of DMA, the light intensity and the amount of the composite. The kinetics of this reaction was compared with that of the reported kinetic model of photosensitized oxidations of organic compounds in homogeneous reactions. It was found that both reactions followed the same model, suggesting that the actual reaction between photoproduced singlet oxygen and 9,10-dimethylanthracene was performed in homogeneous media and the surface of the composite was not involved in the reaction.

In this work, we present an investigation concerning the evaluation of the catalytic properties of Ni nanoparticles supported on ZrO₂, SiO₂, and MgAl₂O₄ for CO₂ hydrogenation to methane. The supports were prepared by coprecipitation and sol-gel, while Ni was incorporated by impregnation (10–20 wt %). X-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, temperature-programmed reduction, H₂ pulse chemisorption, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were the main characterization techniques employed. A laboratory fixed-bed reactor operated at atmospheric pressure, a temperature range of 350–500 °C, and a stoichiometric H₂/CO₂ molar ratio was used for catalyst evaluation. The most outstanding results were obtained with nickel catalysts supported on ZrO₂ with CO₂ conversions of close to 60%, and selectivity to methane formation was 100% on a dry basis, with high stability after 250 h of reaction time. The majority presence of tetragonal zirconia, as well as the strong Ni–ZrO₂ interaction, were responsible for the high catalytic performance of the Ni/ZrO₂ catalysts.

Coupling metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with inorganic semiconductors has been successfully tested in a variety of photocatalytic reactions. In this work we present the synthesis of TiO₂/HKUST-1 composites by grinding, solvothermal, and chemical methods, using different TiO₂ loadings. These composites were used as photocatalysts for hydrogen production by the photoreforming of a glycerol-water mixture under simulated solar light. Several characterization techniques were employed, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC). A synergetic effect was observed with all TiO₂/HKUST-1 composites (mass ratio TiO₂/MOF 1:1), which presented higher photocatalytic activity than that of individual components. These results were explained in terms of an inhibition of the charge carrier (hole-electron) recombination reaction after photoexcitation, favoring the electron transfer from TiO₂ to the MOF and creating reversible Cu¹⁺/Cu⁰ entities useful for hydrogen production.

Graphene-TiO₂ composites have been investigated in various photocatalytic reactions showing successful synergy compared to pristine TiO₂. In the present work, graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized by the Hummers method and then reduced graphene oxide-TiO₂ composites (rGO/TiO₂) were obtained by an in situ GO photoreduction route. X-ray diffraction, FTIR, Raman, UV–vis DRS, and photoluminescence were the main characterization techniques. The obtained composites containing 1 and 3 wt.% rGO were evaluated in the cyanide (50 mg/L) oxidation and Au-cyanide complex (300 mg/L) degradation under UV-A light. The composites showed higher photocatalytic activity than TiO₂, mainly with the 1% rGO content. Cyanate and gold nanoparticles, deposited on the photocatalyst’s surface, were the main byproducts during the photocatalyst assessment. The improved photocatalytic activity of the composites was attributed to a higher rate of electron transfer and a lower rate of charge recombination due to the chemical interaction of rGO with TiO₂.