Amalgamation of N-graphene quantum dots with nanocubic like TiO2: an insight study of sunlight sensitive photocatalysis

In this work, a sunlight-sensitive photocatalyst of nanocubic-like titanium dioxide (TiO2) and N-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) is developed through a simple hydrothermal and physical mixing method. The successful amalgamation composite photocatalyst characteristics were comprehensively scruti...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ping, Feng Lim, Kah, Hon Leong, Lan, Ching Sim, Azrina, Abd Aziz, Saravanan, Pichiah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/23729/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/23729/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/23729/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/23729/7/Amalgamation%20of%20N-graphene%20quantum%20dots1.pdf
Description
Summary:In this work, a sunlight-sensitive photocatalyst of nanocubic-like titanium dioxide (TiO2) and N-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) is developed through a simple hydrothermal and physical mixing method. The successful amalgamation composite photocatalyst characteristics were comprehensively scrutinized through various physical and chemical analyses. A complete removal of bisphenol A (BPA) is attained by a synthesized composite after 30 min of sunlight irradiation as compared to pure TiO2. This clearly proved the unique contribution of N-GQDs that enhanced the ability of light harvesting especially under visible light and near-infrared region. This superior characteristic enables it to maximize the absorbance in the entire solar spectrum. However, the increase of N-GQDs weight percentage has created massive oxygen vacancies that suppress the generation of active radicals. This resulted in a longer duration for a complete removal of BPA as compared to lower weight percentage of N-GQDs. Hence, this finding can offer a new insight in developing effective sunlight-sensitive photocatalysts for various complex organic pollutants degradation.