Photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutant using TiO2/rGO nanocomposites under simulated sunlight

  • Martina Kocijan Department of Materials, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architectur University of Zagreb, Ivana Lučića 5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Lidija Curkovic Department of Materials, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architectur University of Zagreb, Ivana Lučića 5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
  • Tina Radosevic Department for Nanostructured Materials, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
  • Matejka Podlogar Department for Nanostructured Materials, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34624/nmse.v2i4.21063
Keywords: graphene oxide, photocatalysis, reduced graphene oxide, TiO2/rGO composites, visible irradiation

Abstract

Here, we present the development and performance of a nanocomposite photocatalyst based on titanium dioxide (TiO2) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The material was prepared using a direct sol-gel method, followed by hydrothermal treatment. Different experimental conditions, such as time and temperature during the synthesis, were investigated with the aim to optimize photocatalytic degradation. The influence of the preparation conditions on the physicochemical properties of the synthesized powders was established by different characterization methods such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The effectiveness of the synthesized photocatalysts was examined through the photodegradation of caffeine under simulated sunlight irradiation. The influence of synthesized parameters on the TiO2/rGO performance for the photodegradation of pharmaceutical caffeine was monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy.

The obtained results show that the photocatalytic properties of the prepared TiO2/rGO composites depend on different experimental parameters of their synthesis procedure, such as time and temperature. The TiO2/rGO_6/400 composite presents a very efficient photo-degradation of caffeine by simulated sunlight irradiation, resulting in an efficiency of 95% within 90 minutes.

Published
2020-12-11
Issue
Vol 2 No 4 (2020): Nanomaterials Science & Engineering
Section
Articles

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