Synthesis of rGO-TiO2 nanocomposite for photocatalytic activity of methylene blue

Photocatalytic study has been widely employed in the treatment of dye effluent due to the concern in environmental issues. Titanium dioxide (Ti02) is one of the most distinguish material used as a photocatalyst in water treatment due to the properties of TiO2 includes non-toxicity, strong oxidizing power, low cost, high photoactivity and chemical stability. However, the major drawbacks faced is that the existence of high recombination rate of electron-hole pairs and the low response to visible light due to its wide band gap. Graphene based material has extensively gained attention since the discovery by Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov due to astounding properties such as superior conductivity and mechanical strength. In this study, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been introduced to enhance the photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) by creating rGO-Ti02 nanocomposite through calcination method. The synthesis of rGO-TiO2 by calcination method was successful by the confirmation of Ultraviolet visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy showing a peak of rGO at 277 nm and recorded a peak at 30.10 by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) characterization. The photocatalytic degradation of MB using the as prepared rGO-Ti02 nanocomposite with the ratio of 1:0.5 respectively successfully degraded about 50% in the first 30 minutes showing a better performance by comparing TiO2 itself. This is further supported by the R2 value of 0.71481 in the linear regression fit. These findings were suggested that rGO has suppressed the recombination of electron-hole pair, which leads to the enhancement of photocatalytic activity.