Enhanced Photocatalytic Property of Reduced Graphene Oxide/TiO2 Nanobelt Surface Heterostructures Constructed by an In Situ Photochemical Reduction Method |
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| Authors: | Yuanhua Sang Zhenhuan Zhao Jian Tian Pin Hao Huaidong Jiang Hong Liu Jerome P. Claverie |
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| Affiliation: | 1. State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, , Jinan, 250100 China;2. Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Science, , Beijing, 100864 China;3. NanoQAM Research Center, Department of Chemistry, University of Quebec at Montreal, , Montreal, Quebec, H3C3P8 Canada |
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| Abstract: | A facile method is proposed to assemble graphene oxide (GO) on the surface of a TiO2 nanobelt followed by an in situ photocatalytic reduction to form reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/TiO2 nanobelt surface heterostructures. The special colloidal properties of GO and TiO2 nanobelt are exploited as well as the photocatalytic properties of TiO2. Using water–ethanol solvent mixtures, GO nanosheets are tightly wrapped around the surface of the TiO2 nanobelts through an aggregation process and are then reduced in situ under UV‐light irradiation to form rGO/TiO2 nanobelt surface heterostructures. The heterostructures enhance the separation of the photoinduced carriers, which results in a higher photocurrent due to the special electronic characteristics of rGO. Compared to TiO2 nanobelts, the rGO/TiO2 nanobelt surface heterostructures possess higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange and for the production of hydrogen from water, as well as excellent recyclability, with no loss of activity over five cycles. |
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| Keywords: | photocatalysis graphene titanium dioxide heterostructures |
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