Transparent graphene quantum dot/amorphous TiO2 nanocomposite sol as homogeneous-like photocatalyst

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Publication Details

Author list: Thaweechai, Thammanoon; Sirisaksoontorn, Weekit; Poo-arporn, Yingyot; Chanlek, Narong; Seraphin, Supapan; Thachepan, Surachai; Poo-arporn, Rungtiva P.; Suramitr, Songwut;

Publisher: Springer

Publication year: 2021

Volume number: 23

Issue number: 10

Start page: 225

ISSN: 1388-0764

eISSN: 1572-896X

URL: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85117349443&doi=10.1007%2fs11051-021-05338-7&partnerID=40&md5=f4851861bba25de150118b72e17d8d43

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

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Abstract

The transparent nanocomposite sol of graphene quantum dot and amorphous TiO2 (GQD/a-TiO2) was successfully synthesized and used as a homogeneous-like photocatalyst in degradation of rhodamine B (RhB). Analysis of GQD/a-TiO2 structure suggested that the existence of surface functional groups decorated on the GQD sheets played a vital role in anchoring a-TiO2 by chemical interaction and avoiding sol transformation during photocatalytic water treatment. The spectroscopic results and computational calculations indicated that the nanostructural interactions between GQD and a-TiO2 through Ti–O-C bonds had a significant impact on determining optical and electronic properties of the nanocomposite sol. It was found that GQD with smaller size provided the greater extent of interactions with a-TiO2 at nanoscopic level, resulting in narrowing of the band gap energy in GQD/a-TiO2 nanocomposite in comparison with a-TiO2. For photocatalytic study, the GQD/a-TiO2 sol catalyst could be applied for the degradation of RhB under indoor and outdoor natural light. The photocatalytic enhancement of the sol catalyst was considered as a result of the band gap narrowing and the synergistic effects of band attachment in the nanocomposite. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.

Keywords

Amorphous TiO2, Band gap narrowing, Graphene quantum dot, Nanocomposite sol, Nanostructured catalyst, Synergistic effects