Green and economical synthesis of graphene-silver nanocomposite exhibiting excellent photocatalytic efficiency

The emergence of green methods for the synthesis of graphene-based composites became the gateway for the solution of pollution and economic synthetic methods. Herein, we reported a single step in situ synthesis of reduced graphene oxide sheets decorated with silver nanoparticles (CRG-Ag nanocomposite) using custard apple leaf extract as an effective reducing and stabilizing agent. The ultraviolet-visible, Fourier transform infrared and Raman techniques revealed a primary confirmation about the formation of the said nanocomposite. The X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the face-centred cubic crystal structure of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) of 30 nm in size. The high-resolution scanning electron microscope spectra revealed the uniform distribution of Ag NPs on the graphene sheets. This simple, novel and rapid approach enabled a facile production of homogeneously deposited Ag NPs on graphene sheets. Thus synthesized CRG-Ag nanocomposite showed excellent photocatalytic efficiency of 96% in 2 h under sunlight using methylene blue as a model pollutant.