Preparation and characterization of graphene – TiO2 nanocomposite for enhanced photodegradation of Rhodamine-B dye

The synthesizing of TiO2@rGO nanocomposites using an efficient method has been carried out to enhance the photodegradation activities of TiO2. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) synthesis has been illustrated as a key step. The preparation of TiO2@rGO is highly needed and recommended to develop an effective way for the reduction of GO. Our study illustrated an environmentally simple method for TiO2@rGO preparation and demonstrated its efficiency for photocatalytic process by utilizing rhodamine-B dye as an organic pollutant. Synthesized nanoparticles of reduced TiO2@rGO have an observable increase in photo-energy adsorption leading to the increase of the photodegradation reactions. From the obtained results, TiO2@rGO nanocomposites showed great ability to absorb photo-energy and enhance the photodegradation reactions. Moreover, the results revealed that the 3% TiO2@rGO have the best performance than 1% TiO2@rGO at pH = 9.0, 30 mg/l initial dye concentration and 60 min irradiation duration. The reduced graphene oxide production was considered as an influential co-catalyst for improving the TiO2 photocatalytic activities mainly owing to; the fast separation of h+/e− and the adsorption improvement. Our study affirms the production of promising applicable particles using the environmental photocatalysis process in particular with regard to wastewater purification. Keywords: Photocatalysis, TiO2, Graphene oxide, Nanocomposite, XRD, Rh-B dye, TE