Non-light-driven reduced graphene oxide anchored TiO₂ nanocatalysts with enhanced catalytic oxidation performance

As a single-atom-thick carbon material with high surface and good conductivity, graphene provides an ideal platform for designing composite nanomaterials for high-performance catalytic system. Herein, we obtained a TiO₂-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite (TiO₂-RGO) with graphene oxide and tetrabutyl titanate using a facile in situ hydrothermal method. The merit of this method is that the nanocomposites could be produced directly from graphene oxide in the hydrothermal reaction, where the reduction of graphene oxide and the decoration of TiO₂ occurred simultaneously. TiO₂ nanoparticles anchored on graphene sheets as spacers to keep the neighboring sheets separated. The in situ growth route provides a desirable platform for constructing graphene-supported nanocomposites with improved properties. As one of the major applications of the nanocomposites, we investigate the performance of as-prepared TiO₂-RGO as effective non-light-driven catalysts for activating H₂O₂ in oxidative degradation of the dye. The system was employed in oxidation degradation not only to reach high degradation efficiency but also to avoid any energy consumption. Meanwhile, the proposed catalytic system processes broad-spectrum oxidative degradation activity for different model organic pollutants. Overall, this work could provide new insights into the fabrication of a TiO₂-RGO as high performance catalysts and facilitate their application in the environmental protection issues.