Reduced graphene oxide and inorganic nanoparticles composites – synthesis and characterization

Graphene – novel 2D material, which possesses variety of fascinating properties, can be considered as a convenient support material for the nanoparticles. In this work various methods of synthesis of reduced graphene oxide with metal or metal oxide nanoparticles will be presented. The hydrothermal approach for deposition of platinum, palladium and zirconium dioxide nanoparticles in ethylene glycol/water solution was applied. Here, platinum/reduced graphene oxide (Pt/RGO), palladium/reduced graphene oxide (Pd/RGO) and zirconium dioxide/reduced graphene oxide (ZrO2/RGO) nanocomposites were prepared. Additionally, manganese dioxide/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite (MnO2/RGO) was synthesized in an oleic-water interface. The obtained nanocomposites were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results shows that GO can be successfully used as a template for direct synthesis of metal or metal oxide nanoparticles on its surface with a homogenous distribution

Bifunctional Polymeric Carbon Nitride via Tuning Fabrication Conditions for Photocatalysis

In this contribution, the hydrogen evolution reaction and photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye were studied using urea-based polymeric carbon nitride (PCN) as photocatalyst. The effects of calcination temperature and heating rate of the PCN on structural, morphological, optical, photoelectrochemical, and photocatalytic properties were addressed. Different properties were found to be crucial in boosting photocatalytic performance dependending on the reaction type. The highest efficiency in hydrogen evolution was observed in the presence of PCN characterized by the superior charge transport and charge lifetime properties arising from higher degree of structural arrangement and lower defect content in comparison to that of other photocatalysts. However, photocatalytic degradation of RhB was the most powerful when the catalyst exhibited the highest specific surface area as a key parameter determining its efficiency, although it presented lower charge transport and charge carrier properties