Synthesis of a novel and stable reduced graphene oxide/MOF hybrid nanocomposite and photocatalytic performance for the degradation of dyes

Abstract

A simple and facile solvothermal method is developed for the preparation of a reduced graphene oxide/NH₂-MIL-125(Ti) (rGO–NMTi) hybrid nanocomposite photocatalyst with large specific surface area and thermal stability. This rGO–NMTi-x hybrid nanocomposite exhibited a more efficient photocatalytic performance than NH₂-MIL-125(Ti) for methyl blue (MB) degradation under visible-light irradiation due to the synergetic action between rGO and NH₂-MIL-125(Ti). Therefore, rGO/MOFs photocatalysts have great potentiality in environmental remediation. The structure and physical properties of rGO, NH₂-MIL-125(Ti) and rGO–NMTi-x hybrid nanocomposites were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N₂ adsorption/desorption, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), laser Raman, UV-visible absorption spectra (UV-DRS) and FT-IR techniques.