Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic activity of Cu2O/TiO2/rGO under visible light

Abstract

In the present paper, the Cu2O/TiO2/rGO photocatalytic material was synthesized using the hydrothermal method. The obtained samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier- transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscope (TEM), UV−Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–Vis–DRS) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements. The results show that graphene oxide (GO) with oxygen-containing groups was successfully synthesized from graphite. The nanosized TiO2 in the anatase phase and nanosized Cu2O were dispersed evenly over the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets. The specific surface area of the material decreases as nano-oxide particles are incorporated into the rGO and the band-gap energy of Cu2O/TiO2/rGO sample decreases compared with that of TiO2. The Cu2O/TiO2/rGO nanocomposite exhibits high photocatalytic activity in rhodamine B degradation reaction under visible light.