Synthesis and Characterization of rGO/Ag2O Nanocomposite and its Use for Catalytic Reduction of 4-Nitrophenol and Photocatalytic Activity

Water pollution is one of the key ecological issues of the present time. Water pollution causes serious problems to human beings. Industries of cosmetics, mining, dyeing, pigments, batteries, PVC stabilizers, metallurgical engineering, nuclear power operations, printing, electric appliances, electroplating, etc. produce several types of the pollutants that are usually discharged into the running water, which make the water unfit for drinking and other domestic purposes. It is need of present time to develop simple and cost effective advance technology for the purification of the contaminated water. In this regard, the nanocomposites play a key role in wastewater treatment. In this study, we reported the single step preparation of rGO/Ag2O nanocomposite for the wastewater treatment. The prepared rGO/Ag2O nanocomposite was characterized using EDX, SEM, XRD, UV-Vis and FT-IR spectroscopy. XRD data confirmed the synthesis of rGO/Ag2O nanocomposite. The appearance of peak at 2 theta = 10.9 degrees indicated the formation of graphene oxide (GO). The four diffraction peaks at 2 theta = 38.12 degrees, 44.28 degrees, 64.43 degrees and 77.47 degrees indicated the successful synthesis of rGO/Ag2O nanocomposite. SEM analysis of the rGO/Ag2O nanocomposite showed that the sheet of carbon was randomly decorated with Ag2O. The average particle-size of the rGO/Ag2O nanocomposite was calculated to be 24.62 nm. The rGO/Ag2O nanocomposite showed effective catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol. The rGO/Ag2O nanocomposite also displayed extraordinary photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl blue and brilliant green.

Automated summary

Water pollution is a significant ecological issue that poses serious problems to human health. Developing cost-effective advanced technologies for water purification, such as nanocomposites like rGO/Ag2O, is crucial. These nanocomposites demonstrate effective catalytic and photocatalytic activity in wastewater treatment, showing promise for addressing pollution issues.