Carbon-based nanomaterials and ZnO ternary compound layers grown by laser technique for environmental and energy storage applications

[Display omitted] •Ternary CNT/GO/ZnO nanohybrid electrodes.•Laser-material processing.•Photocatalyst layers active under visible light irradiation.•Photodecomposition of antibiotic molecules.•Electrochemical energy storage. Carbon nanotube – highly reduced graphene oxide – transition metal oxide (ZnO) nanohybrid layers were synthesized using a one-step laser technique. Commercial multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), graphene oxide (GO) platelets and ZnO nanoparticles were used as starting materials. We discuss the influence of carbon/metal oxide ratio on the physico-chemical properties of the nanohybrid layers, geometrical characteristics, shape and dimensions of constituent nanoentities, chemical composition and chemical bonding states, optical properties, UV–visible absorption, band gap values, as well as charge transfer properties. In the followings the relation between these properties and functional characteristics, removal of water contaminants, antibiotic molecules, and charge storage performances of the ternary, MWCNTs/reduced GO/ZnO layers are presented, identifying the optimum relative concentrations of the constituting nanomaterials. The high photocatalytic efficiencies both under UV and visible light irradiations, even after several consecutive degradation cycles, were attributed to effective separation of photogenerated charge carriers by carbon nanomaterials as well as formation of oxygen deficient ZnOx−1 nanocrystals. The enhanced charge storage capacity of ternary nanohybrid electrodes is based on combined electrochemical double layer capacitance and pseudocapacitance implying redox reactions on the surface and subsurface of the layers in contact with the electrolyte. Both functional properties are strongly influenced by the relative concentrations of the nanomaterials constituting the ternary layers.