One-step hydrothermal synthesis, characterization and visible-light catalytic property of Ag-reduced graphene oxide composite

In this paper, a nanocomposite consisting of Ag nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide sheets was synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method using glucose as a reducing agent. The as-prepared sample was characterized systematically, and the results indicated that the graphene oxide was reduced and an Ag-reduced graphene oxide hybrid material was formed. It was shown that the as-prepared Ag-reduced graphene oxide was in a layered structure stacked by reduced graphene oxide sheets. The Ag nanoparticles decorated on the reduced graphene oxide sheets. The analysis revealed that there was strong interaction between the Ag nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide sheets. A photodegradation study was also performed on the Ag-reduced graphene oxide composite. It showed that the composite exhibited a high catalytic activity for the photodegradation of Rhodamine B pollutant under visible-light irradiation, which made Ag-reduced graphene oxide a promising candidate as photocatalyst for Rhodamine B.

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► Ag-RGO composites were synthesized via a facile one-step hydrothermal method.
► Glucose was used to reduce GO in the hydrothermal treatment.
► The Ag-RGO showed a high catalytic activity for the photodegradation of RhB.