Facilely Synthesized Cobalt Doped TiO2 Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite as an Advanced Photocatalyst Material for Degradation of Methylene Blue

Abstract

AbstractIn this work, cobalt activated TiO2 photocatalyst have been successfully prepared on graphene oxide (GO) using simple and cost‐effective method to prepare Co‐TiO2/GO nanocomposites for the photocatalytic treatment of methylene blue (MB), representative organic dye, under visible light irradiation. The as‐prepared samples were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), High resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV‐vis diffused reflectance spectra (DRS), Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The characterization results confirmed that Co‐TiO2 catalyst is decorated on the graphene oxide. The photocatalytic efficiency of Co‐TiO2/GO for the degradation of MB was also improved by changing the proportion between Co‐TiO2 and GO. Highest photocatalytic activity was observed for Co‐TiO2 loaded with 5 wt % GO (88.7 %) compared with neat Co‐TiO2 (43.4 %) after 180 min of visible light irradiation. Furthermore, degradation by products was analyzed on Quadrupole Time‐of‐Flight Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (QTOF/LCMS) and the possible degradation pathway was proposed. It is investigated that the Co‐TiO2/GO nanocomposite has potential use in the catalytic degradation of organic contaminants under visible light irradiation.