Photoanodes modified with reduced graphene oxide to enhance photoelectrocatalytic performance of B-TiO2 under visible light
PDF

How to Cite

Gualdrón-Reyes, A. F., Meléndez, A. M., Niño-Gómez, M. E., Rodríguez-González, V., & Carreño-Lizcano, M. I. (2015). Photoanodes modified with reduced graphene oxide to enhance photoelectrocatalytic performance of B-TiO2 under visible light. Revista De La Academia Colombiana De Ciencias Exactas, Físicas Y Naturales, 39, 77–83. https://doi.org/10.18257/raccefyn.252

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Métricas Alternativas


Dimensions

Abstract

The effect of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) content in boron-modified TiO2 nanocrystalline films on their photocatalytic activity in phenol oxidation is investigated. Visible-light-active TiO2 modified photoanodes were prepared  by incorporating graphene sheets into the sol-gel reaction of B-TiO2,   followed by depositing the reaction products on 304 stainless steel plates by dip-coating technique. Thin films obtained by in situ sol-gel synthesis were characterized by FESEM, GIXRD and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. FESEM examination showed cracked films due to the tensile stress generated by solvent evaporation. GIXRD results showed that boron in the films inhibits the growth of crystallites. Comparing to unmodified TiO2, B-TiO2/rGO showed a red shift in the band gap. The potentiodynamic anodic polarization measurements showed that graphene incorporation improved the photogenerated electron transport within the film, hence increasing the photocurrent. These enhancements are explained on the basis of the ability of graphene in promoting the charge carrier separation by transferring the photogenerated electrons from the illuminated photoanode to the substrate. The film B-TiO2/rGO obtained from the sol solution containing 0.03 wt/v% boron  and 3 wt/v% graphene exhibited the highest photocurrent, which was 30 times larger compared with the photocurrent of TiO2 film. © 2015. Acad. Colomb. Cienc. Ex. Fis. Nat. All rights reserved.
https://doi.org/10.18257/raccefyn.252
PDF

References

Akpan, U.G., Hameed, B.H. 2010. The advancements in sol–gel method of doped-TiO2 photocatalysts. Appl. Catal. A-Gen. 375: 1-11.

Ardila-Alvarado, L.F., Fuente-Torres, S.N. 2012 (in Spanish). Electrochemical study of the degradation of cyanide on titanium dioxide films doped with nitrogen, N-TiO2, under visible light. Undergraduate thesis. Industrial University of Santander, Colombia. p. 37, 38.

Bell, N.J., Ng, Y.H. Du, H., Coster, H., Smith, S.C., Amal, A. 2011. Understanding the enhancement in photoelectrochemical properties of photocatalytically prepared TiO2-reduced graphene oxide composite. J. Phys. Chem. C, 2011, 115 (13): 6004-6009.

Berger, T., Monllor-Satoca, D., Jankulovska, Lana-Villarreal, M.T., Gómez, R. 2010. The electrochemistry of nano-structured titanium dioxide electrodes. ChemPhysChem 13: 2824-2875.

Castellano-Leal, E.L., Córdoba, E., Meléndez, A.M. 2012 (in Spanish). Effect of TiO2xNx film thickness in electrophotocatalytic and photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange under visible-light illumination. XXVII Congress of the Mexican Society of Electrochemistry -and- 5th Meeting of the ECS Mexican Section. Toluca, Mexico. p. 1-12.

Comninellis, C. 1994. Electrocatalysis in the electrochemical conversion/combustion of organic pollutants for waste water treatment. Electrochim. Acta 39 (11-12): 1857-1862.

Ding, J., Yuan, Y., Xu, J., Deng, J., Guo, J. 2009. TiO2 nanopowder co-doped with iodine and boron to enhance visible-light photocatalytic activity. J. Biomed. Nanotechnol. 5: 1-7.

Fernández, A., Lassaletta, G., Jiménez, V. M., Justo, A., González-Elipe, A. R., Herrmann, J.-M., Tahiri, H. Ait-Ichou, Y. 1995. Preparation and characterization of TiO2 photocatalysts supported on various rigid supports (glass, quartz and stainless steel). Comparative studies of photocatalytic activity in water purification. Appl. Catal. B: Environ. 7: 49-63.

Gerischer, H. 1990. The impact of semiconductors on the concepts of electrochemistry. Electrochim. Acta 35 (11-12): 1677-1699.

Gualdrón-Reyes, F.A. 2014. Photoelectrochemical phenol oxida-tion in aqueous solution by using boron-doped TiO2/graphene films deposited on stainless steel. Master thesis. Industrial University of Santander, Colombia. p. 37-38.

Gualdrón-Reyes, F. A., Meléndez, A.M., González, I., Lartundo-Rojas, L., Niño-Gómez, M. 2014. The effect of substrate on the photo(electro)chemical properties and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 photoanodes modified with boron and graphene. Manuscript in preparation.

Jing, C., Zhao, X., Zhang, Y. 2007. Sol–gel fabrication of compact, crack-free alumina film. Mater. Res. Bull. 42: 600-608.

Joya-Herrera, L.M., Sequeda-Pico, J.A. 2014 (in Spanish). Evaluation of N-TiO2 semiconductors films in the photo-electrocatalytic oxidation of phenol with visible light. Undergraduate thesis. Industrial University of Santander, Colombia. p. 40-44.

Krýsa, J., Waldner, G., Měšt’ánková, H., Jirkovský, J., Grabner, G. 2006. Photocatalytic degradation of model organic pollutants on an immobilized particulate TiO2 layer. Appl. Catal. B-Environ. 64: 290-301.

Li, D., Muller, M.B., Gilje, S., Kanerand, R.B., Wallace, G.G. 2008. Processable aqueous dispersions of graphene nanosheets. Nat. Biotechnol. 3: 101-105.

Lu, X., Tian, B., Chen, F., Zhang, J. 2010. Preparation of boron-doped TiO2 films by autoclaved-sol method at low temperature and study on their photocatalytic activity. Thin Solid Films 519: 111-116.

Macak, J.M., Tsuchiya, H., Ghicov A., Yasuda, K., Hahn, R., Bauer, S., Schmuki, P. 2007. TiO2 nanotubes: self-organized electrochemical formation, properties and applications. Curr. Opin. Solid St. M. Sci. 11: 3-18.

McAllister, M.J., Li, J.L., Adamson, D.H., Schniepp, H.C., Abdala, A.A., Liu, J., Herrera-Alonso, M., Milius, D.L., Car, R., Prud’homme, R.K., Aksay, I.A. 2007. Single sheet functionalized graphene by oxidation and thermal expansion of graphite. Chem. Mater. 19: 4396-4404.

Martínez-Orozco, R.D., Rosu, H.C., Lee, S.W., Rodríguez-González, V. 2013. Understanding the adsorptive and photoactivity properties of Ag-graphene oxide nano-composites. J. Hazard. Mater. 263: 52-60.

Quesada-Plata, F.E., Quintero-Ruiz, J.A. 2014 (in Spanish). Electrochemical study of the effect of copper(I) as catalyst for oxidation of cyanide under visible light using titanium oxide films doped with nitrogen. Undergraduate thesis. Industrial University of Santander, Colombia. p. 37-43.

Ramírez-Ortega, D., Meléndez, A. M., Acevedo-Peña, P., González, I., Arroyo, R. 2014. Semiconducting properties of ZnO/TiO2 composites by electrochemical measurements and their relationship with photocatalytic activity. Electrochim. Acta, 140: 541-549.

Lana-Villarreal, M.T., Mao, Y., Wong, S.S., Gómez, R. 2010. Photoelectrochemical behavior of anatase nanoporous films: effect of the nanoparticle organization. Nanoscale, 2: 1690-1698.

Sokolov, S., Ortel, E., Radnik, J., Kraehnert, R. 2009. Influence of steel composition and pre-treatment conditions on morphology and microstructure of TiO2 mesoporous layers produced by dip coating on steel substrates Thin Solid Films, 518: 27-35.

Wang, P., Ao, Y., Wang, C., Hou, J., Qian, J. 2012. Enhanced photoelectrocatalytic activity for dye degradation by graphene–titania composite film electrodes. J. Hazard. Mater. 223-224: 79-83.

Wang, D., Li, X., Chen, J., Tao, X. 2012. Enhanced photoelectrocatalytic activity of reduced graphene oxide/TiO2 composite films for dye degradation. Chem. Eng. J. 198-199: 547-554.

Zaikovskii, A.V., Mal’tsev, V.A., Novopashin, S.A., Sakhapov, S.Z., Smovzh, D.V. 2012. Synthesis of nanocrystalline carbon upon methane pyrolysis in arc discharge. Nanotechnologies in Russia, 7: 11.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2015 Journal of the Colombian Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences