Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7833891 | Applied Surface Science | 2018 | 29 Pages |
Abstract
Reduced graphene oxide supported CuFe2O4-TiO2p-n heterojunction nanocomposite was prepared via ultrasound assisted simple wet impregnation method. The nanocomposites were characterized, by XRD, FTIR, Raman Spectra, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, UV- vis, DRS Spectra, and PL Spectra. The optical band gap of rGO/CuFe2O4-TiO2 nanocomposite was found to be red shifted to 1.51â¯eV from 3.20â¯eV for pristine TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared rGO/CuFe2O4-TiO2 nanocomposite was determined via photocatalytic water-splitting in the presence of glycerol as hole scavenger under UV-vis light irradiation. A peak hydrogen production rate of 35981â¯Î¼molgâ1â¯hâ1 was obtained, which is â¼8 and 3 times higher than that of bare TiO2 (4640â¯Î¼molgâ1â¯hâ1) and CuFe2O4-TiO2 photocatalysts (14719â¯Î¼molgâ1â¯hâ1), respectively. This remarkable improvement in the photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the enhanced visible light absorption and efficient charge carrier separation at the interface of rGO/CuFe2O4-TiO2 nanocomposites. A significant quenching of photoluminescence intensity of the rGO/CuFe2O4-TiO2 nanocomposite further confirmed the effective separation and transportation of photogenerated charge carriers in the presence of rGO sheet. A double charge separation and transportation mechanism is proposed for the enhanced photocatalytic activity.
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Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
Authors
Hafeez Yusuf Hafeez, Sandeep Kumar Lakhera, Peramaiah Karthik, Masakazu Anpo, Bernaurdshaw Neppolian,