Low-temperature solvothermal synthesis of graphene-TiO2 nanocomposite and its photocatalytic activity for dye degradation

Graphene/TiO2 (GR-TiO2) nanocomposite was synthesized via a low-temperature solvothermal route using graphite oxide (GO) as a precursor of graphene and TiCl3 as a single-source precursor of TiO2. The formation of TiO2 nanoparticles were accompanied by the reduction of GO to graphene during a solvothermal reaction. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atom force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and UV-vis spectroscopy. Compared to neat TiO2 nanoparticles, the results reveal that the visible light photocatalytic activity of the composite is enhanced greatly on decomposition of degrade methyl orange (MeO) solution, which making it a promising candidate for widely potential application in the field of photocatalysis. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.