Novel Synthesis and Characterization of Pt-graphene/TiO2 Composite Designed for High Photonic Effect and Photocatalytic Activity under Visible Light

Abstract

The degradation of methyl blue (MB) catalyzed by platinum (Pt)-graphene/TiO2 in dark ambiance was studied. Pt-graphene/TiO2 composites were prepared by simple hydrothermal method. Characterizations of composites were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), specific surface area (BET) analysis, and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. UV-spectroscopic analysis of the dyes was performed by measuring the change in absorbance. The degradation of the organic dyes was calculated based on the decrease in concentration of the dyes with respect to regular time intervals. Rate coefficients for the catalytic process were successfully established and reusability tests were performed to test the stability of the used catalysts. Key words: Graphene, TiO2, TEM, Raman, Dyes