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Fabrication and photocatalytic ability of an Au/TiO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite

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Abstract

A new type of Au/TiO2/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposite was fabricated by the hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2 on graphene oxide followed by the photodeposition of Au nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that Au nanoparticles were loaded onto the surface of both TiO2 and RGO. Au/TiO2/RGO had a better photocatalytic activity than Au/ TiO2 for the degradation of phenol. Electrochemical measurements indicated that Au/TiO2/RGO had an improved charge transfer capability. Meanwhile, chemiluminescent analysis and electron spin resonance spectroscopy revealed that Au/TiO2/RGO displayed high production of hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals in the photocatalytic process. This high photocatalytic performance was achieved via the addition of RGO in Au/TiO2/RGO, where RGO served not only as a catalyst support to provide more sites for the deposition of Au nanoparticles but also as a collector to accept electrons from TiO2 to effectively reduce photogenerated charge recombination.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Natural Science Fig. 7 The formation of H2O2 for no photocatalyst, TiO2, Au/ TiO2, and Au/TiO2/RGO under UV light (0.75 mW·cm–2) irradiation for 4 h Fig. 8 ESR spectra of TiO2, Au/TiO2, and Au/TiO2/RGO both in the dark and under UV light irradiation Fenghe Lv et al. An Au/TiO2/RGO nanocomposite for photocatalysis 5 Foundation of Liaoning Province of China (No. 2014020149), the Scientific Research Project of Liaoning Provincial Department of Education (No. L201603) and the Open Foundation of Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ecology-Toxicological Effects & Control for Emerging Contaminants (No. PY16005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Fisheries and Life Science, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China

    Fenghe Lv, Hua Wang, Qi Zhang & Xuan Liu

  2. Key Laboratory of Mariculture & Stock Enhancement in North China’s Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Dalian, 116023, China

    Fenghe Lv & Hua Wang

  3. Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ecology-Toxicological Effects & Control for Emerging Contaminants, Putian, 351100, China

    Hua Wang & Zhangliang Li

  4. Faculty of Chemical, Environmental and Biological Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Qi Zhang, Xuan Liu & Yan Su

Authors
  1. Fenghe Lv
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  2. Hua Wang
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  3. Zhangliang Li
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  4. Qi Zhang
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  5. Xuan Liu
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  6. Yan Su
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Correspondence to Hua Wang or Yan Su.

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Lv, F., Wang, H., Li, Z. et al. Fabrication and photocatalytic ability of an Au/TiO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 12, 4 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-017-0977-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-017-0977-8

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