Graphene oxide based semiconductor photocatalysts for degradation of organic dye in waste water: A review on fabrication, performance enhancement and challenges

Most of the semiconductor photocatalysts exhibit high crystallinity and photosensitivity, weak surfaceadsorption ability and poor visible-light response due to which photocatalytic efficiency of those materials were moderately low. The photoexcitation in those materials are not possible under visible light region to induce higher photoactivity because of much higher bang gap and requires high energy to excite electrons from valence band to the conduction band. The tuneable band gap and efficient intercalation of various compound in Graphene oxide finds profound use of this novel material in heterogeneous catalysis especially in photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes. Both Graphene oxide and reduced Graphene oxide can be utilized to fabricate the semiconductor photocatalysts to synthesize some binary or ternary heterojunctions and the photocatalytic efficiency can be augmented. This review paper focuses on the design, development, performance enhancement and the overall research progress in fabrication of Graphene oxide based semiconductor nanocomposites in photocatalytic degradation of some toxic organic dyes. Some representative examples are discussed in detail. The major challenges and future perspectives are also highlighted.

Automated summary

The majority of semiconductor photocatalysts have low efficiency due to high crystallinity and photosensitivity, weak surface adsorption ability, and poor visible-light response. Introducing various compounds in Graphene oxide to adjust the band gap can greatly enhance the efficiency, especially in the degradation of organic dyes. The use of Graphene oxide in fabricating semiconductor photocatalysts for binary or ternary heterojunctions shows promising results in improving photocatalytic efficiency.