Photocatalytic Properties of Graphene/Gold and Graphene Oxide/Gold Nanocomposites Synthesized by Pulsed Laser Induced Photolysis

Abstract

Graphene (Gr)/gold (Au) and graphene-oxide (GO)/Au nanocomposites (NCPs) were synthesized by performing pulsed-laser-induced photolysis (PLIP) on hydrogen peroxide and chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) that coexisted with Gr or GO in an aqueous solution. A 3-month-long aqueous solution stability was observed in the NCPs synthesized without using surfactants and additional processing. The synthesized NCPs were characterized using absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction to prove the existence of hybrid Gr/Au or GO/Au NCPs. The synthesized NCPs were further evaluated using the photocatalytic reaction of methylene blue (MB), a synthetic dye, under UV radiation, visible light (central wavelength of 470 nm), and full spectrum of solar light. Both Gr/Au and GO/Au NCPs exhibited photocatalytic degradation of MB under solar light illumination with removal efficiencies of 92.1% and 94.5%, respectively.

A review of graphene‐TiO2 and graphene‐ZnO nanocomposite photocatalysts for wastewater treatment

“…Type of semiconductor: another aspect proving the performance of graphene-based photocatalyst that plays a major role in its designing is the type of semiconductor material attached to it. Different nanomaterials including inorganic semiconductors (Martins et al, 2018), organic semiconductors (Rahman et al, 2017), and plasmonic metals (Chen, Shen, et al, 2020;Mangalam et al, 2019) can be attached to graphene oxide through different processes. The photocatalytic properties of graphene-based photocatalyst are primarily dependent on the type of semiconductor attached to it.…”

Fundamentals and comprehensive insights on pulsed laser synthesis of advanced materials for diverse photo- and electrocatalytic applications

“…Chen et al 191 reported the synthesis of graphene (Gr)/Au and GO/Au nanocomposites through pulsed laser-induced photolysis in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, chloroauric acid (HAuCl 4 ) along with Gr or GO in an aqueous solution. The nanocomposites were evaluated for MB degradation, where both Gr/Au and GO/Au exhibited 92% and 94% removal efficiency due to reduced recombination of electron-hole.…”

Facile synthesis of high-entropy alloy nanoparticles on germanane, Ge nanoparticles and wafers

“…16,17 The use of metal heterostructures containing GeNSs and other 2D semiconductors, such as Si-doped GeNSs, presents new opportunities due to their unique optical and electronic properties. 18 For example, coupling the reactivity of metals with the optical properties of graphene has lead to photocatalysts capable of water splitting, 19 while interfacing plasmonic metal nanoparticles with the electronic properties of GeNSs could yield materials with potential applications in solar energy conversion, photodetection, and sensing. To date, investigation of GeNSs–metal heterostructures has been limited, in part, because there are limited examples of methods that provide these emerging materials.…”