Reduced\nGraphene Oxide-Silver Nanoparticle Composite as Visible Light Photocatalyst\nfor Degradation of Colorless Endocrine Disruptors

Abstract

Sunlight-induced\ndegradation of organic pollutants is an ideal approach for environmental\npollution control and wastewater treatment. Although a variety of\nphotocatalysts have been designed toward this goal, efficient degradation\nof colorless organic pollutants by visible light is a challenging\nissue. Here, we show that a reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-based composite\nwith silver nanoparticle (rGO–Ag) can act as an efficient visible-light\nphotocatalyst for the degradation of colorless organic pollutants.\nWe have developed a simple, large-scale synthesis method for rGO–Ag\nand used it for the degradation of three well-known endocrine disruptors\n(phenol, bisphenol A, and atrazine) under UV and visible light. It\nis found that photocatalytic efficiency by rGO–Ag under visible\nlight is significantly higher compared to that of rGO or silver nanoparticles.\nIt is proposed that Ag nanoparticles offer visible-light-induced excitation\nof silver plasmons, and conductive rGO offers efficient charge separation\nand thus induces oxidative degradation of the organic pollutant. This\napproach can be extended for sunlight-induced degradation of different\norganic pollutants.