Enhanced photocatalytic performance of Nb doped TiO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites over rhodamine B dye under visible light illumination

Abstract

The present study discusses the synthesis of Nb doped TiO2/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) intercalated nanocomposites via sol-gel route at a lower temperature by using different loading amounts of graphene oxide (GO) (1 to 10 wt%). The synthesized composite materials were further characterized by copious instruments such as X-ray Diffractometer, UV-Vis Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis, Raman and Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy. The experimental results stated that the Nb doped TiO2 nanoparticles uniformly distributed on the surface of rGO with an interfacial linking bond between TiO2 and rGO. Later, the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye using produced materials under visible light irradiation was examined. These results revealed that Nb doped TiO2/rGO nanocomposites exhibited better photocatalytic performance than Nb doped TiO2 for the removal of RhB dye. However, among all, the nanocomposite having 5 wt% of GO content achieves the highest degradation efficiency for RhB dye approximately 98% under visible light exposure. Altogether, the unique properties such as electron accepting and transporting properties of GO in the nanocomposite is caused to enhance photocatalytic activity by minimizing the charge carrier’s recombination rate.

Synthesis and characterization of 3D-zeolite–modified TiO2-based photocatalyst with synergistic effect for elimination of organic pollutant in wastewater treatment

“…As shown in Supplementary Table S2, it was found that among all materials, Z-PAgT-5 displayed the highest degradation efficiency with 0.067 mg/g/min, indicating its high photocatalytic removal ability for Rh B. As for Zeolite/g-C 3 N 4 (Kumar et al, 2018), CdS/ TiO 2 (Wang et al, 2019), SiO 2 /CNOs/TiO 2 (3%) (Zhang et al, 2019), g-C 3 N 4 /Ag-TiO 2 (2%) (Sui et al, 2020), and Nb-doped TiO 2 /rGO (Prabhakarrao et al, 2021), their photocatalytic efficiency was dramatically lower than Z-PAgT-5. As such, all the abovestated results suggest that our created Z-PAgT-5 photocatalyst with high photocatalytic efficiency and stability for numerous cycles is a promising alternative for wastewater treatment in practical applications.…”

Bi2O3-Doped WO3 Nanoparticles Decorated on rGO Sheets: Simple Synthesis, Characterization, Photocatalytic Performance, and Selective Cytotoxicity toward Human Cancer Cells

“…Graphene-based nanocomposites have attracted attention for a variety of applications, including gas sensing, energy storage, environmental remediation, and biomedicine. , Presently, several investigators are focusing on fabricating metal oxide nanocomposites (NCs) with GO or rGO nanosheets to improve their optical properties . Jo et al reported that the incorporation of graphitic carbon with TiO 2 NPs enhanced their photocatalytic activity under UV irradiation compared with pure TiO 2 NPs.…”

“… 22 , 23 Presently, several investigators are focusing on fabricating metal oxide nanocomposites (NCs) with GO or rGO nanosheets to improve their optical properties. 24 Jo et al 25 reported that the incorporation of graphitic carbon with TiO 2 NPs enhanced their photocatalytic activity under UV irradiation compared with pure TiO 2 NPs. The TiO 2 /WO 3 /GO NCs demonstrate outstanding photocatalytic activity for the degradation of bisphenol under visible light.…”