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Reduced Graphene Oxide–Titanium Dioxide Nanocomposites: Structural Characterization and Photocatalytic Degradation of Gaseous Formaldehyde
Author(s) -
Zhang Jie,
Yang Huan,
Xu Xiao,
Liu Yujiao,
Ren Haojun,
Chen Pingping,
Yang Kang
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.202000085
Subject(s) - graphene , materials science , anatase , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , high resolution transmission electron microscopy , photocatalysis , raman spectroscopy , nanocomposite , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , oxide , titanium dioxide , photodegradation , chemical engineering , scanning electron microscope , photoluminescence , transmission electron microscopy , nanotechnology , composite material , catalysis , chemistry , organic chemistry , metallurgy , physics , optoelectronics , optics , engineering
TiO 2 /rGO nanocomposites are prepared by the solvothermal process using titanium sulfate and graphene oxide (GO) as raw materials utilized for the photodegradation of gaseous formaldehyde. Characterization by Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveal that GO is partially reduced to reduced GO (rGO) and TiOC bond is formed between TiO 2 and rGO. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) confirms that the presence of anatase TiO 2 . High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) exhibits that TiO 2 nanoparticles with a diameter of ≈20 nm are uniformly loaded on the wrinkled rGO sheets. UV‐vis spectroscopy reveals that the absorption intensity of TiO 2 /rGO increases with increasing GO content. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy indicates that the ability of restraining electron–hole recombination initially increases with increasing GO content, followed by a gradual decrease. The TiO 2 /rGO nanocomposite ( m TiO2 : m GO = 40:1) demonstrates optimal photocatalytic performance with formaldehyde degradation rate of 96% in 2 h and stable activity, which can be ascribed to the larger reduction of GO (76.19%), higher TiOC bonds (17%), unfolded rGO sheets, and lower electron–hole recombination rate.