Graphene-Based TiO2 Nanocomposite for Photocatalytic Degradation of Dyes in Aqueous Solution under Solar-Like Radiation
Source abstract
Abstract
This study presents a novel method for the development of TiO2/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites for photocatalytic degradation of dyes in an aqueous solution. The synergistic integration of rGO and TiO2, through the formation of Ti–O–C bonds, offers an interesting opportunity to design photocatalyst nanocomposite materials with the maximum absorption shift to the visible region of the spectra, where photodegradation can be activated not only with UV but also with the visible part of natural solar irradiation. TiO2@rGO nanocomposites with different content of rGO have been self-assembled by the hydrothermal method followed by calcination treatment. The morphological and structural analysis of the synthesized photocatalysts was performed by FTIR, XRD, XPS, UV-Vis DRS, SEM/EDX, and Raman spectroscopy. The effectiveness of the synthesized nanocomposites as photocatalysts was examined through the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) dye under artificial solar-like radiation. The influence of rGO concentration (5 and 15 wt.%) on TiO2 performance for photodegradation of the different dyes was monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The obtained results showed that the synthesized TiO2@rGO nanocomposites significantly increased the decomposition of RhB and MB compared to the synthesized TiO2 photocatalyst. Furthermore, TiO2@rGO nanocomposite with high contents of rGO (15 wt.%) presented an improved performance in photodegradation of MB (98.1%) and RhB (99.8%) after 120 min of exposition to solar-like radiation. These results could be mainly attributed to the decrease of the bandgap of synthesized TiO2@rGO nanocomposites with the increased contents of rGO. Energy gap (Eg) values of nanocomposites are 2.71 eV and 3.03 eV, when pure TiO2 particles have 3.15 eV. These results show the potential of graphene-based TiO2 nanocomposite to be explored as a highly efficient solar light-driven photocatalyst for water purification.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques · Graphene and Nanomaterials Applications · Advanced Nanomaterials in Catalysis
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, Ivana Lučića 5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, Trg Marka Marulića 20, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Forensic Science Centre “Ivan Vučetić”, Ministry of the Interior, Ilica 335, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova Cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Centre for Mechanical Technology and Automation (TEMA), Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Funding
FCT - Fundação para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia · Centro Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Centro2020) · Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS)
References (52)
Show source-provided references
1. Present applications of titanium dioxide for the photocatalytic removal of pollutants from water: A review10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110906 ↗
2. Photocatalytic oxidation of organic dyes and pollutants in wastewater using different modified titanium dioxides: A comparative review10.1016/j.jiec.2014.10.043 ↗
3. Synthesis of TiO2/Graphene oxide nanocomposites for their enhanced photocatalytic activity against methylene blue dye and ciprofloxacin10.1016/j.compositesb.2019.107120 ↗
4. TiO2/graphene and TiO2/graphene oxide nanocomposites for photocatalytic applications: A computer modeling and experimental study10.1016/j.compositesb.2018.03.015 ↗
5. Parameters affecting the photocatalytic degradation of dyes using TiO2-based photocatalysts: A review10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.05.039 ↗
6. Optimizing P25-rGO composites for pesticides degradation: Elucidation of photo-mechanism10.1016/j.cattod.2019.01.025 ↗
7. Fabrication of porous TiO2-RGO hybrid aerogel for high-efficiency, visible-light photodegradation of dyes10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.153033 ↗
8. SnS2/RGO based nanocomposite for efficient photocatalytic degradation of toxic industrial dyes under visible-light irradiation10.1016/j.jallcom.2018.10.008 ↗
9. Tolosana-Moranchel, Á., Manassero, A., Satuf, M.L., Alfano, O.M., Casas, J.A., and Bahamonde, A. (2019). Influence of TiO2-rGO optical properties on the photocatalytic activity and efficiency to photodegrade an emerging pollutant. Appl. Catal. B Environ., 1–11.10.1016/j.apcatb.2019.01.054 ↗
10. Nanocatalysts and other nanomaterials for water remediation from organic pollutants10.1016/j.ccr.2020.213180 ↗
11. Photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes in the presence of nanostructured titanium dioxide10.1016/j.molstruc.2019.127115 ↗
12. Amorphous carbon inhibited TiO2 phase transition in aqueous solution and its application in photocatalytic degradation of organic dye10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.151917 ↗
13. A facile approach to synthesis graphene oxide/bismuth oxide nanocomposites and their superior sunlight driven photocatalytic activity10.1016/j.ijleo.2019.163035 ↗
14. Graphene promoted triphasic N/Ti3+-TiO2 heterostructures: In-situ hydrothermal synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.01.266 ↗
15. Visible-light-induced self-cleaning functional fabrics using graphene oxide/carbon nitride materials10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.143757 ↗
16. Jung, S.C., Bang, H.J., Lee, H., Kim, H., Ha, H.H., Yu, Y.H., and Park, Y.K. (2019). Degradation behaviors of naproxen by a hybrid TiO2 photocatalyst system with process components. Sci. Total Environ., 135216.10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135216 ↗
17. Effect of operational parameters on the photocatalytic degradation of Methylene blue dye solution using manganese doped ZnO nanoparticles10.1016/j.rinp.2018.12.089 ↗
18. Fast photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye using a low-power diode laser10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.09.031 ↗
19. Treatment of saline produced water through photocatalysis using rGO-TiO2 nanocomposites10.1016/j.cattod.2018.04.048 ↗
20. Enhanced performance of TiO2/reduced graphene oxide doped by rare-earth ions for degrading phenol in seawater excited by weak visible light10.1016/j.apt.2019.06.011 ↗
21. Charge carrier trapping, recombination and transfer during TiO2 photocatalysis: An overview10.1016/j.cattod.2018.10.053 ↗
22. Dye degradation studies using immobilized pristine and waste polystyrene-TiO2/rGO/g-C3N4 nanocomposite photocatalytic film in a novel airlift reactor under solar light10.1016/j.jece.2019.103289 ↗
23. Structure and chemistry of graphene oxide in liquid water from first principles10.1038/s41467-020-15381-y ↗
24. Metal-oxide surface-enhanced Raman biosensor template towards point-of-care EGFR detection and cancer diagnostics10.1039/C9NH00590K ↗
25. Hooshmand, S., Kargozar, S., Ghorbani, A., Darroudi, M., Keshavarz, M., Baino, F., and Kim, H.W. (2020). Biomedical waste management by using nanophotocatalysts: The need for new options. Materials, 13.10.3390/ma13163511 ↗
26. Zouzelka, R., Remzova, M., Plsek, J., Brabec, L., and Rathousky, J. (2019). Immobilized rGO/TiO2 photocatalyst for decontamination of water. Catalysts, 9.10.20944/preprints201907.0183.v1 ↗
27. Gated graphene island-enabled tunable charge transfer plasmon terahertz metamodulator10.1039/C8NR10151E ↗
28. Gated graphene enabled tunable charge-current configurations in hybrid plasmonic metamaterials10.1021/acsaelm.9b00035 ↗
29. Improved synthesis of graphene oxide10.1021/nn1006368 ↗
30. Kinetics and degradation pathways of photolytic and photocatalytic oxidation of the anthelmintic drug praziquantel10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.04.065 ↗
31. Photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutant using TiO2/rGO nanocomposites under simulated sunlight
32. Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue: Preparation of TiO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites by direct sol-gel and hydrothermal methods10.1016/j.materresbull.2017.08.029 ↗
33. TiO2/graphene porous composite and its photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue10.1016/j.matdes.2016.06.104 ↗
34. Synergistic effects and kinetics of rGO-modified TiO2 nanocomposite on adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of humic acid10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.01.026 ↗
35. Controlled synthesis, characterization and reduction of graphene oxide: A convenient method for large scale production
36. Synthesis and characterization of sulfophenyl-functionalized reduced graphene oxide sheets10.1039/C6RA28311J ↗
37. Removal of Th4+ ions from aqueous solutions by graphene oxide10.1007/s10967-013-2660-2 ↗
38. Tin oxide/graphene composite fabricated via a hydrothermal method for gas sensors working at room temperature10.1016/j.snb.2012.06.055 ↗
39. Preparation of rGO-TiO2 composite and study of its dye adsorption properties10.1016/j.matpr.2019.02.037 ↗
40. Synthesis and characterization of TiO2/graphene oxide nanocomposites for photoreduction of heavy metal ions in reverse osmosis concentrate10.1039/C8RA06681G ↗
41. Enhancement of visible and UV light photocatalytic activity of rGO-TiO2 nanocomposites: The effect of TiO2/Graphene oxide weight ratio10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.02.129 ↗
42. Antibacterial properties of TiO2 modified with reduced graphene oxide10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.09.039 ↗
43. One-step synthesis of easy-recycling TiO2-rGO nanocomposite photocatalysts with enhanced photocatalytic activity10.1016/j.apcatb.2012.12.009 ↗
44. Chi, N., Mai, T., Thi, T., Van, T., and Juang, R. (2020). Enhanced removal of various dyes from aqueous solutions by UV and simulated solar photocatalysis over TiO2/ZnO/rGO composites. Sep. Purif. Tech., 232.10.1016/j.seppur.2019.115962 ↗
45. Raman microspectroscopy characterization of carbon blacks: Spectral analysis and structural information10.1016/j.carbon.2014.12.030 ↗
46. Synthesis of well-dispersed TiO2@ reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites and their photocatalytic properties10.1016/j.materresbull.2017.02.025 ↗
47. Ag-loaded TiO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity10.1016/j.apsusc.2015.07.056 ↗
48. Hortigüela, M.J., Machado, D., Bdikin, I., Neto, V., and Otero-irurueta, G. (2020). Chemical changes of graphene oxide thin films induced by thermal treatment under vacuum conditions. Coatings, 10.10.3390/coatings10020113 ↗
49. Quantitative XRD characterisation and gas-phase photocatalytic activity testing for visible-light (indoor applications) of KRONOClean 7000®10.1039/C5RA22816F ↗
50. Nitrogen-modified nano-titania: True phase composition, microstructure and visible-light induced photocatalytic NOx abatement10.1016/j.jssc.2015.08.008 ↗
51. Kusiak-Nejman, E., Wanag, A., Kapica-Kozar, J., Kowalczyk, Ł., Zgrzebnicki, M., Tryba, B., Przepiórski, J., and Morawski, A.W. (2019). Methylene blue decomposition on TiO2/reduced graphene oxide hybrid photocatalysts obtained by a two-step hydrothermal and calcination synthesis. Catal. Today.10.1016/j.cattod.2019.04.078 ↗
52. Novel assembly of homogeneous reduced graphene oxide-doped mesoporous TiO2 hybrids for elimination of Rhodamine-B dye under visible light irradiation10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.12.279 ↗