Amine-assisted solvothermal approach for the in situ synthesis of metal telluride/reduced graphene oxide

A simple and universal solvothermal method for the synthesis of metal telluride/reduced graphene oxide (MTe/RGO, M = Cd, Co and Ni) by in situ nucleation and growth of MTe nanocrystals on the surface of RGO was reported. The as-synthesized MTe/RGO composites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The possible formation mechanism of MTe/RGO was also proposed. The obtained CdTe/RGO exhibits higher photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methylene blue compared to pure CdTe. This could be attributed to the efficient charge transport of RGO and hence reduced recombination rate of excited carriers. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.