A facile and fast synthesis of novel composite Pt–graphene/TiO2 with enhanced photocatalytic activity under UV/Visible light

• Pt–graphene/TiO2 nanocomposites were synthesized by MAS method.
• Pt–graphene/TiO2 nanocomposites were used for the degradation of organic Dye under UV/Visible light.
• Enhanced photocatalytic activity was observed for Pt–graphene/TiO2 nanocomposites.
• Red shift observed having band gap of 1.8 eV in the nanocomposite from (DRS) analysis.

In this study, novel material Pt–graphene/TiO2 nanocomposites were prepared by facile and fast microwave assisted method. The “as-prepared” composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV–Visible absorbance spectra analysis. UV–Visible diffuse spectra (DRS) were obtained by using a scan UV–Visible spectrophotometer equipped with an integrating sphere assembly. The photocatalytic activities were investigated by the degradation of rhodamine B (Rh.B) as a standard dye. The photodegradation rate of Rh.B under UV/Visible light was found markedly high with increasing wt% of graphene in Pt–graphene/TiO2 nanocomposites. This revealed that the excellent photoinduced charge separation abilities and observed red shift in these hybrid semiconductors, transport properties of graphene make these hybrid materials as potential candidates for developing high-performance and next-generation photocatalyst materials.