Synthesis of tunable core–shell nanostructures based on TiO2-graphene architectures and their application in the photodegradation of rhodamine dyes

• Synthesis of graphene-TiO2 nanocomposite materials with photoactive properties.
• Controllable graphene to TiO2 morphologies and chemistries.
• Excellent stability and morphological characteristics.
• Provide excellent photodegradation of organic dyes.

We present the synthesis of core–shell nanostructural materials with multi-component architectures based on TiO2 and graphitic layers. The composites have been synthesized by chemical vapor deposition with methane as the carbon source, for 5, 10, 30 and 45 min. The final products were characterized by a combination of analytical approaches which include: electron microscopy, Raman, FT-IR and UV–vis spectroscopy as well as thermogravimetric analysis. The amount of graphene shells covering the TiO2 surfaces was found to vary linearly with the reaction time. Furthermore, the compounds were shown to have excellent stability and photocatalytic activity towards the UV degradation of rhodamine (RhB) dye solution at room temperature. These composites could have major applications in the area of environmental cleaning of various pollutants, electrochemistry or nanomedicine.

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