Reduced graphene oxide-TiO₂ nanocomposite with high photocatalystic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B

Reduced graphene oxide-TiO₂ (RGO-TiO₂) nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized through a facile hydrothermal reaction with minor modification using graphene oxide (GO) and commercial P25 as starting materials in an ethanol-water solvent, followed by calcining temperature at 400 °C for 2 h in Ar. These nanocomposites prepared with different ratios of graphene oxide (GO) were characterized by BET surface area, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectroscopy. The RGO-TiO₂ nanocomposites exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity than bare P25 for the degradation of rhodamine B (Rh.B) in an aqueous solution. The improved photocatalytic activities may be attributed to increased adsorbability for Rh.B molecular, light absorption levels in visible region and charge transfer rate in the presence of a two-dimensional graphene network.