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  • A facile one-step solvothermal synthesis of graphene/rod-shaped TiO₂ nanocomposite and its improved photocatalytic activity.

A facile one-step solvothermal synthesis of graphene/rod-shaped TiO₂ nanocomposite and its improved photocatalytic activity.

Nanoscale (2012-06-22)
Pengyu Dong, Yuhua Wang, Linna Guo, Bin Liu, Shuangyu Xin, Jia Zhang, Yurong Shi, Wei Zeng, Shu Yin
ABSTRACT

Graphene sheets were obtained through solvothermal reduction of colloidal dispersion of graphene oxide in benzyl alcohol. The graphene/rod-shaped TiO(2) nanocomposite was synthesized by this novel and facile solvothermal method. During the solvothermal reaction, both the reduction of graphene oxide and the growth of rod-shaped TiO(2) nanocrystals as well as its deposition on graphene occur simultaneously. The photocatalytic activity of graphene/rod-shaped TiO(2) and graphene/spherical TiO(2) nanocomposites was compared. In the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO), the graphene/rod-shaped TiO(2) nanocomposite with the optimized graphene content of 0.48 wt% shows good stability and exhibits a significant enhancement of photocatalytic activity compared to the bare commercial TiO(2) (P25) and graphene/spherical TiO(2) nanocomposite with the same graphene content. Photocurrent experiments were performed, which demonstrate that the photocurrent of the graphene/rod-shaped TiO(2) nanocomposite electrode is about 1.2 times as high as that of the graphene/spherical TiO(2) nanocomposite electrode. The photocatalytic mechanism of graphene/rod-shaped TiO(2) nanocomposite was also discussed on the basis of the experimental results. This work is anticipated to open a possibility in the integration of graphene and TiO(2) with various morphologies for obtaining high-performance photocatalysts in addressing environmental protection issues.

MATERIALS
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Sigma-Aldrich
Titanium boride, powder, <10 μm