TiO2–graphene composites with exposed {001} facets produced by a one-pot solvothermal approach for high performance photocatalyst

Abstract

TiO2-graphene (TOG) composites with exposed TiO2 {001} facets were prepared by a solvothermal approach without any addition of surfactants or capping agents, only using titanium isopropoxide and graphene oxide ethanol suspension as the precursors. Graphene was covered uniformly and densely with anatase TiO2 nanoparticles, exposing the {001} facets. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and photocurrent measurements show the presence of electron transfer between TiO2 and graphene. The electron transfer between TiO2 and graphene will greatly retard the recombination of photoinduced charge carriers and prolong electron lifetime, which will contribute to the enhancement of photocatalytic performance. Accordingly, the TOG composites show high photocatalytic activity of methyl orange under UV light, likely due to the effective separation of photoinduced charge, exposure of highly reactive {001} facets and great adsorptivity of dyes.

Photocatalytic degradation of acetic acid in the presence of visible light-active TiO 2 -reduced graphene oxide photocatalysts

“…However, modified Hummer's method is the preparation method most frequently used for TiO 2 -graphene nanocomposites [16][17][18].…”

Synthesis and catalytic performance of hierarchical TiO 2 hollow sphere/reduced graphene oxide hybrid nanostructures

“…Adsorptivity measurements (Supporting Information Fig. S3) suggested that introduction of RGO could increase the adsorptivity of reactants because of pep conjugation between aromatic nitro organics and the aromatic regions of RGO [29], rather than negligible variations in surface area resulting from the low RGO content. This increased TiO 2 HS/RGO composite adsorptivity promotes the photocatalytic reduction of aromatic nitro organics on the photocatalyst surface.…”

“…Anderson et al reported that TiO 2 /thermally RGO composites showed superior photocatalytic activity for phenol degradation [27]. In general, electrons in TiO 2 /RGO composites transfer from TiO 2 to RGO through interfacial charge-transfers, leading to improved separation of electrons and holes [28,29]. This phenomenon reveals the potential use of TiO 2 /RGO composites for efficient photocatalytic selective reduction, which is strongly dependent on photogenerated electron transfer from semiconductors under light irradiation.…”

Synthesis and investigation of crystal structure and optical properties of brookite TiO2 nanoparticles capped with (2-chloroquinoline-3-yl) methanol

“…7c shows the C1s spectrum of sample (b). The peaks at 284.69 and 285.08 eV were assigned to C=C/C-H aromatic and C-C/C-H aliphatic, respectively [37,38]. The peak at 285.69 eV can be ascribed to the C-O-Ti bond [35].…”