Graphene/Porous Beta TiO₂ Nanocomposites Prepared Through a Simple Hydrothermal Method

Title:Graphene/Porous Beta TiO₂ Nanocomposites Prepared Through a Simple Hydrothermal Method

Volume: 1 Issue: 1

Author(s): Yuqin Zhang, Hengcong Tao, Yunnan Gao, Tao Ma, Jingjing Ding and Zhenyu Sun*

Affiliation:

• State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029,China

Keywords: Beta-titania, few-layer graphene, hydrolysis, nanosheet, nanocomposite, porous.

Abstract: Background: Despite recent advances in the construction of graphene/TiO2 hybrids with tunable structure and morphology, the synthesis of graphene/beta TiO2 nanocomposites with welldefined morphology remains a challenge.

Objective: We report for the first time a novel array structure consisting of porous ultrathin beta TiO2 nanosheets grown on few-layer graphene.

Method: Pristine few-layer graphene (FLG) was first effectively exfoliated and dispersed in ethylene glycol. Then porous beta TiO2 nanosheets were synthesized via one-step thermal hydrolysis of TiCl3, grown vertically on the surface of FLG stabilized by ethylene glycol at 150°C for 3 h.

Results: The morphology and microstructure of these resulting graphene/beta TiO2 nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and N2 adsorption/desorption. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and N2 adsorption/desorption measurements illustrated the formation of mesopores with mean diameter of 3.8 nm in these TiO2 (B) nanosheets. XRD revealed that the presence of FLG played a significant role in inhibiting the phase transformation of beta TiO2 to anatase during annealing at 300ºC for 1 h in air which otherwise occurs rapidly without FLG.

Conclusion: In summary, we have presented a simple approach to synthesize graphene/porous beta TiO2 nanocomposites with tunable morphology. It is expected that this novel structure would be an interesting photocatalyst for the conversion of solar energy to chemical fuels.

Cite this article as:

Zhang Yuqin, Tao Hengcong, Gao Yunnan, Ma Tao, Ding Jingjing and Sun Zhenyu*, Graphene/Porous Beta TiO₂ Nanocomposites Prepared Through a Simple Hydrothermal Method, Current Graphene Science (Discontinued) 2017; 1 (1) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/2452273201666161026162838

DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/2452273201666161026162838	Print ISSN 2452-2732
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher	Online ISSN 2452-2740