Dye-sensitization-induced visible-light reduction of graphene oxide for the enhanced TiO2 photocatalytic performance

The reduction of graphene oxide (GO) with a large-scale production has been demonstrated to be one of the key steps for the preparation of graphene-based composite materials with various potential applications. Therefore, it is highly required to develop a facile, green, and environmentally friendly route for the effective reduction of GO. In this study, a new and effective reduced method of GO nanosheets, based on the dye-sensitization-induced visible-light reduction mechanism, was developed to prepare reduced GO (rGO) and graphene-based TiO2 composite in the absence of any additional reducing agents. It was found that the dye-sensitization-induced reduction process of GO was accompanied with the formation of TiO2-rGO composite nanostructure. The photocatalytic experimental results indicated that the resultant TiO2-rGO nanocomposites exhibited significantly higher photocatalytic performance than pure TiO2 because of a rapid separation of photogenerated electrons and holes by the rGO cocatalyst.