Indium Tin-Oxide Wrapped 3D rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub> Composites: Development, Characterization, and Enhancing Photocatalytic Activity for Methylene Blue

A hybrid material of indium tin-oxide (ITO) wrapped titanium dioxide and reduced graphene oxide (ITO-rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub>) was prepared using a facile hydrothermal technique. TiO<sub>2</sub> nanorods were in situ grown on the surface of rGO (rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cheng Gong, Shiyin Xu, Peng Xiao, Feifan Liu, Yunhui Xu, Jin Yang, Rui Li, Xuan Wang, Jun Du, Hailong Peng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-10-01
Series:Catalysts
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/9/10/848
Description
Summary:A hybrid material of indium tin-oxide (ITO) wrapped titanium dioxide and reduced graphene oxide (ITO-rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub>) was prepared using a facile hydrothermal technique. TiO<sub>2</sub> nanorods were in situ grown on the surface of rGO (rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub>), and which was then assembled onto ITO substrate layer by layer with formation of a 3D structure. ITO-rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub> exhibit low charge transfer resistance at the electrode-electrolyte interface and have good photoresponsive ability. Methylene blue (MB) can be effectively adsorbed and enriched onto ITO-rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub> surface. The adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics of ITO-rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub> were evaluated, showing that the exothermic and entropy-driven reaction were the main thermodynamic processes, and the Langmuir isotherm was the ideal model for adsorption fitting. Meanwhile, ITO greatly improved degradation of rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub> because electrons can be collected by ITO before recombination and MB can easily enter into the 3D structure of rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub>. The highest photodegradation rate of MB reached 93.40% for ITO-rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub> at pH 9. Additionally, ITO-rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub> successfully solved the problems of being difficult to recycle and causing secondary pollution of traditional TiO<sub>2</sub> catalysts. Therefore, ITO-rGO and TiO<sub>2</sub> may be a potential photocatalyst for degrading organic pollutants in water.
ISSN:2073-4344