Synthesis of TiO₂ nanowire/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites and their photocatalytic performances

TiO₂ nanowire/reduced graphene oxide (TiO₂/RGO) nanocomposites were synthesized through a modified hydrothermal method with cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as a surfactant. The characterization of phase structure and morphology of TiO₂/RGO nanocomposites revealed that most of graphene oxides (GO) were reduced to form RGO during the hydrothermal treatment, and TiO₂ nanowires were grown in situ on the surfaces of the RGO layers in the presence of CTAB. Compared with TiO₂/RGO prepared without CTAB, RGO in TiO₂/RGO-C nanocomposites were layered with smooth surface. TiO₂ nanowires in the nanocomposites were much longer than the TiO₂ nanorods synthesized with the same method. Furthermore, with the increase of TiO₂ content, TiO₂ nanowires tended to be several micrometers in length. Compared with the obtained RGO and TiO₂ nanorods, the TiO₂/RGO nanocomposites exhibited a higher photocatalytic activity as a result of the synergistic effect between TiO₂ and RGO. The TiO₂/RGO nanocomposite with the optimized mass ratio of TiO₂: GO of 0.6 showed a significant enhancement in photocatalytic activity. Furthermore, a deeper insight into the photocatalytic mechanism of TiO₂/RGO nanocomposites was put forward.