Facile synthesis of TiO₂-RGO composite with enhanced performance for the photocatalytic mineralization of organic pollutants Available to Purchase

Current research reports the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide (RGO)-TiO₂ nanocomposite by in-situ redox method and graphene oxide by modified hummers method. The ratio of RGO and TiO₂ in the composite was optimized to show best photocatalytic activity for the degradation of targeted pollutants. Optimized (1:10) RGO-TiO₂ nanocomposite was characterized by various techniques viz. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area (BET), Raman and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) technique confirming successful formation of nanocomposite. XRD results confirm the presence of anatase phase in RGO-TiO₂. Uniform dispersion of TiO₂ nanoparticles on RGO could be seen from TEM images. The obtained results of (1:10) RGO-TiO₂ showed five-fold and two-fold enhancement for the visible light and UV light, respectively, for the photocatalytic mineralization of methylene blue dye as compared to commercial Aeroxide P25 TiO₂. The excellent photocatalytic mineralization activity of (1:10) RGO-TiO₂ could be attributed to the enhanced surface area of composite as well as to its good electron sink capability. (1:10) RGO-TiO₂ could be recycled easily and was found to be equally efficient even after the fourth cycle for the photocatalytic mineralization of methylene blue dye. The non-selectivity of synthesized composite was checked by the mineralization studies of oxalic acid.