Partially reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-TiO2 nanorods (TNRs) (designated as GT) were synthesized for degrading aqueous hazardous pollutants. The degree of RGO oxidation greatly affected the photoelectronic and photocatalytic activities of GT composites. This study evaluated the effect of the degree of RGO oxidation on the photocatalytic activities. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra revealed that the RGO atomic oxygen-to-carbon (O/C) ratio was controlled by adjusting the hydrazine reduction temperature (20-95oC). The photocatalytic activities were investigated for degrading aqueous hazardous pollutants such as rhodamine b (RhB), methyl orange (MO), methylene blue (MB) and phenol using UV light. The most efficient photocatalyst was GT-95 having a RGO atomic O/C ratio of 0.130±0.003. Note that the number after GT represents the value of temperature (oC) used to synthesize the photocatalysts. The greatest photocurrent for GT-95 showed a 12-fold improvement when compared to pure TiO2. This 12-fold increase was much greater than the approximate 2-fold increase for UV-assisted RGO-TiO2 reported by Williams et al. GT-95 showed a much higher photodegradation rate constant (k) and shorter half-life (t1/2) of approximately 0.44 min for degrading MB (Figure ab) when compared to the t1/2 of TiO2-RGO (3-4 min) reported by Zhang et al. This study demonstrated the significance of partial chemical doping of graphene as a means to enhance photocatalysts activities of semiconductors (e.g. TiO2, CdS and ZnO) for degrading hazardous chemicals in polluted water and air sources.

Partially reduced graphene oxide-TiO2 nanorods photocatalyst for degrading aqueous hazardous pollutants

256th National Meeting (2018)

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