One‐Step Hydrothermal Synthesis of 2D Hexagonal Nanoplates of α‐Fe₂O₃/Graphene Composites with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

There has been significant progress in the field of semiconductor photocatalysis, but it is still a challenge to fabricate low‐cost and high‐activity photocatalysts because of safety issues and non‐secondary pollution to the environment. Here, 2D hexagonal nanoplates of α‐Fe2O3/graphene composites with relatively good distribution are synthesized for the first time using a simple, one‐step, template‐free, hydrothermal method that achieves the effective reduction of the graphene oxide (GO) to graphene and intimate and large contact interfaces of the α‐Fe2O3 nanoplates with graphene. The α‐Fe2O3/graphene composites showed significantly enhancement in the photocatalytic activity compared with the pure α‐Fe2O3 nanoplates. At an optimal ratio of 5 wt% graphene, 98% of Rhodamine (RhB) is decomposed with 20 min of irradiation, and the rate constant of the composites is almost four times higher than that of pure α‐Fe2O3 nanoplates. The decisive factors in improving the photocatalytic performance are the intimate and large contact interfaces between 2D hexagonal α‐Fe2O3 nanoplates and graphene, in addition to the high electron withdrawing/storing ability and the highconductivity of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) formed during the hydrothermal reaction. The effective charge transfer from α‐Fe2O3 nanoplates to graphene sheets is demonstrated by the significant weakening of photoluminescence in α‐Fe2O3/graphene composites.

Novel Composites of α‐Fe2O3 Tetrakaidecahedron and Graphene Oxide as an Effective Photoelectrode with Enhanced Photocurrent Performances

“…In the C 1s spectrum, the peaks at 284.6, 286.5, and 288.7 eV are attributed to C C, C O, and O C O confi gurations, respectively. [ 7 ] Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is also employed to study the chemical structure comparison between pure α-Fe 2 O 3 and α-Fe 2 O 3 /GO 3 composites. As shown in Figure 4 , there are several obvious peaks raised after the introduction of graphene oxide to α-Fe 2 O 3 .…”

“…[ 37 ] Hexagonal α-Fe 2 O 3 /graphene composites have been synthesized through one-step hydrothermal reaction, which exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity for pollutant degradation. [ 7 ] A net-like hematite nanoparticles/graphene oxide (GO) composite with much higher photocatalytic activity than pure α-Fe 2 O 3 has been fabricated. [ 38 ] Accordingly, the fabrication of α-Fe 2 O 3 polyhedron/graphene composites with enhanced PEC activity is desirable and practical applications.…”

Enhancing Charge Separation in Metallic Photocatalysts: A Case Study of the Conducting Molybdenum Dioxide

“…[9] Our MoO 2 -HTCC heterojunction is different with traditional carbon-introducing method. [10] Previously reported photocatalysts with carbon are usually carbonsemiconductor photocatalysts composites. They mainly focus on improving the conductivity to promote the photoexcited charges out to the reaction solution.…”

A New Insight in the Physical and Photoelectrochemical Properties of Molybdenum Disulfide Alpha-Hematite Nanocomposite Films

“…Besides, MoS 2 has shown different applications in photocatalyst, phototransistors and sensors applications [5]. It is understood that MoS 2 could help to play an important role as the charge transfer with slow recombination of electron-hole pairs created due to photoenergy with the charge transfer rate between surface and electrons [35]. were characterized using X-ray diffraction, SEM, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, particle analyzer, and UV-vis techniques.…”