Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue in presence of graphene oxide/TiO2 nanocomposites

Abstract

A simple method of depositing titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles onto graphene oxide (GO) as a catalytic support was devised for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB). Thiol groups were utilized as linkers to secure the TiO2 nanoparticles. The resultant GO-supported TiO2 (GO-TiO2) sample was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements, revealing that the anatase TiO2 nanoparticles had effectively anchored to the GO surface. In the photodegradation of MB, GO-TiO2 exhibited remarkably enhanced photocatalytic efficiency compared with thiolated GO and pure TiO2 nanoparticles. Moreover, after five-cycle photodegradation experiment, no obvious deactivation was observed. The overall results showed that thiolated GO provides a good support substrate and, thereby, enhances the photodegradation effectiveness of the composite photocatalyst.