Issue 25, 2012

Improving the photocatalytic performance of graphene–TiO2 nanocomposites via a combined strategy of decreasing defects of graphene and increasing interfacial contact

Abstract

Incessant interest has been shown in the synthesis of graphene (GR)–semiconductor nanocomposites as photocatalysts aiming to utilize the excellent electron conductivity of GR to lengthen the lifetime of photoexcited charge carriers in the semiconductor and, hence, improve the photoactivity. However, research works focused on investigating how to make sufficient use of the unique electron conductivity of GR to design a more efficient GR–semiconductor photocatalyst have been quite lacking. Here, we show a proof-of-concept study on improving the photocatalytic performance of GR–TiO2 nanocomposites via a combined strategy of decreasing defects of GR and improving the interfacial contact between GR and the semiconductor TiO2. The GR–TiO2 nanocomposite fabricated by this approach is able to make more sufficient use of the electron conductivity of GR, by which the lifetime and transfer of photoexcited charge carriers of GR–TiO2 upon visible light irradiation will be improved more efficiently. This in turn leads to the enhancement of visible-light-driven photoactivity of GR–TiO2 toward selective transformation of alcohols to corresponding aldehydes using molecular oxygen as a benign oxidant under ambient conditions. It is anticipated that our current work would inform ongoing efforts to exploit the rational design of smart, more efficient GR–semiconductor photocatalysts for conversion of solar to chemical energy by heterogeneous photocatalysis.

Graphical abstract: Improving the photocatalytic performance of graphene–TiO2 nanocomposites via a combined strategy of decreasing defects of graphene and increasing interfacial contact

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Apr 2012
Accepted
26 Apr 2012
First published
26 Apr 2012

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012,14, 9167-9175

Improving the photocatalytic performance of graphene–TiO2 nanocomposites via a combined strategy of decreasing defects of graphene and increasing interfacial contact

Y. Zhang, N. Zhang, Z. Tang and Y. Xu, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2012, 14, 9167 DOI: 10.1039/C2CP41318C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements