Sol-Gel-Assisted Microwave-Derived Synthesis of Anatase Ag/TiO2/GO Nanohybrids toward Efficient Visible Light Phenol Degradation

A simple microwave-assisted (MWI) wet chemical route to synthesize pure anatase phase titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) is reported here using titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) as starting material. The as-prepared TiO2 NPs were characterized by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV/visible absorption spectroscopy, and infrared and Raman spectroscopic techniques. Further modification of the anatase TiO2 NPs was carried out by incorporating plasmonic silver (Ag) NPs and graphene oxide (GO) in order to enhance the visible light absorption. The photocatalytic activities of the anatase TiO2, Ag/TiO2, and Ag/TiO2/GO nanocomposites were evaluated under both ultraviolet (UV) and visible light irradiation using phenol as a model contaminant. The presence of Ag NPs was found to play a significant role to define the photocatalytic activity of the Ag/TiO2/GO nanocomposite. It was found that the Ag performed like a sink under UV excitation and stored photo-generated electrons from TiO2, whereas, under visible light excitation, the Ag acted as a photosensitizer enhancing the photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite. The detailed mechanism was studied based on photocatalytic activities of Ag/TiO2/GO nanocomposites. Therefore, the as-prepared Ag/TiO2/GO nanocomposite was used as photocatalytic materials under both UV and visible light irradiation toward degradation of organic molecules.