Excellent visible light photocatalytic properties of novel graphene based CdLa₂S₄/TiO₂ heterojunction nanocomposite

ABSTRACT

This paper introduced one pot method for the synthesis of hybrid CdLa₂S₄-graphene/TiO₂ nanocomposite. The surface properties seen by SEM present a characterization of the texture on CdLa₂S₄-graphene/TiO₂ composites and showed a homogenous composition in the particles. The EDX spectra for the elemental identification showed the presence of C, O and Ti with strong Cd, La and S peaks for the CdLa₂S₄-graphene/TiO₂ nanocomposite. The generation of reactive oxygen species were detected through the oxidation reaction from 1,5-diphenyl carbazide (DPCI) to 1,5-diphenyl carbazone (DPCO). It is found that the photocurrent density and the photocatalytic effect increase in the case with the modified CdLa₂S₄.From the photocatalytic results, the excellent activity of CdLa₂S₄-graphene/TiO₂ nanocompositefor degradation of methylene blue (MB) and Texbrite BA-L (TBA) undervisible irradiation could be attributed to both the effects between photocatalysis of the supported TiO₂ and charge transfer of the grapheme nanosheet, and the introduction of CdLa₂S₄ to enhance the photogenerated electrons.

KEYWORDS:

• ROS
• CdLa₂S₄/TiO₂
• Graphene
• Visible light
• Heterojuction nanocomposite

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Research Foundation of Hanseo University in 2015. The authors are grateful to the staff of the university for financial support.