Enhanced photocatalytic activities of TiO2-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites controlled by Ti O C interfacial chemical bond

Abstract In this study, a hydrothermal-prepared TiO2-RG nanocomposites series exhibited excellent photocatalytic activities, of which the results can be largely influenced by a Ti O C interfacial chemical bond between TiO2 nanoparticles and RG nanosheets. A stirring TiO2-RG sample was prepared as contrast analysis using the same wet process except for heating. The characteristics of the composites were tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, FT-IR, Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The photocatalytic properties were verified by UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) testing as well as degrading Rhodamine B (RhB). Our research results show that the better Ti O C interfacial chemical bond was formed, the narrower band gap of the nanocomposite was then obtained. The best hydrothermal synthesizing temperature was found out as 120 °C. The TiO2-RG nanocomposite, as inexpensive, nontoxic and highly photo-catalytically active, may let it have a potential use in various photocatalytic applications.