Mukhopadhyay, Soumita and Maiti, Debabrata and Saha, Arindam and Sujatha Devi, P (2016) Shape Transition of TiO2 Nanocube to Nanospindle Embedded on Reduced Graphene Oxide with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity. Crystal Growth & Design, 16 (12). pp. 6922-6932. ISSN 1528-7483

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Abstract

In this study, we report a facile synthetic route for the transition of anatase TiO2 nanocube to nanospindle with coexposed {001} and {101} facets on a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) platform. Initially, a TiO2 nanocubes/graphene oxide suspension in an ethanol–water solvent mixture was hydrothermally treated at 180 °C for various reaction durations to perform the in situ growth of TiO2 and simultaneous reduction of graphene oxide to rGO. All composites resulted in the formation of anatase TiO2 with a surface heterojunction formed by coexposed {101} and {001} facets embedded on an rGO sheet. Interestingly, it was observed that 4 h of hydrothermal treatment resulted in the formation of a TiO2 nanospindle with enhanced {001} high energy facet % embedded on an rGO sheet. The photocatalytic performance of the products was evaluated for the photodegradation of malachite green under simulated solar irradiation. All TiO2@ rGO composites exerted enhanced activity as compared to the native TiO2 cube owing to enhanced adsorption and fast electron migration by the rGO platform. Furthermore, the TiO2 spindle @rGO exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity with a ∼6 fold increase in efficiency over the native TiO2 cube. This superior performance of the nanospindle was ascribed to the synergistic effect of enhanced {001} facet percentage in the surface heterojunction and close interfacial contact with the rGO platform.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Engineering Materials
Divisions:	Sensor and Actuator
Depositing User:	Bidhan Chaudhuri
Date Deposited:	04 Jan 2017 12:42
Last Modified:	04 Jan 2017 12:42
URI:	http://cgcri.csircentral.net/id/eprint/3772

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