Nanotitania composite assembled with Graphene oxide for Photocatalytic degradation of Eosin Yellow under Visible light

Abstract

Visible light responsive Graphene oxide (GO) nanotitania composite was synthesized and its photocatalytic activity was investigated for the degradation of Eosin Yellow (EY). The nanocomposite was synthesized by organic solvent free-controlled hydrolysis of titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) exfoliated with 10 wt. % (0.5 g) of the as prepared GO particles under ultrasonication through in-situ addition of the aqueous GO solution. The synthesized nanocomposite has been characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectral (UV-Vis DRS) and Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) techniques. In the presence of visible light, its photocatalytic activity was enhanced on contrast with the synthesized bare nanotitania particles. The aqueous solution of EY has degraded in 80 minutes (95.5 %). It was also supported with the increase in the rate constant with the composite (7.05 x 10-2 min-1) as compared with that of the nanotitania (1.41 x 10-2 min-1). Through the chemical oxygen demand (COD) studies, effective mineralization of the dye was observed with the nanocomposite.