Herein we obtained a chemically bonded TiO(2) (P25)-graphene nanocomposite photocatalyst with graphene oxide and P25, using a facile one-step hydrothermal method. During the hydrothermal reaction, both of the reduction of graphene oxide and loading of P25 were achieved. The as-prepared P25-graphene photocatalyst possessed great adsorptivity of dyes, extended light absorption range, and efficient charge separation properties simultaneously, which was rarely reported in other TiO(2)-carbon photocatalysts. Hence, in the photodegradation of methylene blue, a significant enhancement in the reaction rate was observed with P25-graphene, compared to the bare P25 and P25-CNTs with the same carbon content. Overall, this work could provide new insights into the fabrication of a TiO(2)-carbon composite as high performance photocatalysts and facilitate their application in the environmental protection issues.

The effects of chemical states of Ag on the photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of Ag−TiO2 composites were investigated with Ag(0)−TiO2 and Ag(I)−TiO2 prepared by photoreduction-thermal treatment (PRT) method. The comparison of photoaction spectra of Ag(0)−TiO2 and Ag(I)−TiO2 showed that only the Ag(0) containing samples had notable photocurrent under visible light (in the range of 400−800 nm), which was attributed to the highly dispersed Ag(0), according to the DRS, XRD and XPS measurements. During the photocurrent spectra measurements of Ag(0)−TiO2, it was demonstrated that Ag(0) was photoexcited because of plasma resonance in the visible light region, and charge separation was accomplished by the transport of photoexcited electrons from Ag(0) to the TiO2 conduction band with the simultaneous formation of Ag(I), which could be partially reduced to the initial active Ag(0) state under the following UV light irradiation. Actually, it was the interconversion of Ag(0) and Ag(I) during the alternating irradiation that avoided the rapid decay of photocurrent and ensured a durable and stable visible light-induced photocurrent. In the case of visible light degradation of methyl blue (MB), however, Ag(0)−TiO2 showed poorer photocatalytic activity than Ag(I)-containing ones. It was proposed that photoexcited Ag(I) rather than Ag(0) acted as active sites that were responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic abilities, whereas Ag(0) might contribute to the stability of the photocatalysts. Hence, the Ag−TiO2 nanocomposites can exhibit different photoelectrochemical performances under visible light with the different chemical states of Ag. This work could have significance not only in the mechanism study but also in the attempts to improve the visible light-induced photoactivities of Ag−TiO2, by tuning the chemical states of Ag species, in potential photoelectrochemical applications.

To improve the performance of SnO 2 as anode materials for lithium battery, a facile and efficient method to prepare the composites of SnO 2 -nanocrystal/graphene-nanosheets was developed on the basis of the reduction of graphene oxide (GO) by Sn 2+ ion. Changing the ratio of Sn 2+ and GO led to the morphology changes of SnO 2 /graphene-nanosheets composite. The performance as anode materials for lithium battery was studied in this report. The results showed that the electrochemical performance of composites was greatly enhanced, indicating that the composites might have a promising future as application in Li-ion battery.

A highly efficient and robust heterogeneous photocatalytic hydrogen evolution system was established for the first time by using the CoP/CdS hybrid catalyst in water under solar irradiation. The H2-production rate can reach up to 254,000 μmol h(-1) g(-1) during 4.5 h of sunlight irradiation, which is one of the highest values ever reported on CdS photocatalytic systems in the literature.