Synthesis and characterization of rGO/AgCeO₂ nanocomposite for photocatalytic application

The current research describes the utilization of reduced graphene oxide-wrapped silver cerium oxide nanocomposite produced by an in-situ hydrothermal method. The nanocomposite was assessed by XRD, FT-IR, SEM with EDAX, UV-DRS, BET and XPS spectrum analysis. The XRD pattern of rGO/AgCeO₂ was recorded at 2θ = 25.36°, 28.71°, 33.00°, 44.31°, 56.13°, 64.44°, 69.36°, 77.39° and 81.55°. It exhibited a typical crystalline phase with nine characteristics corresponding to the (002), (111), (200), (222), (400), (331), (311), (400), and (311) planes, respectively. The average crystalline size determined with Scherer’s formula is 24.7, 25.8, 50.9, and 53.4 nm, respectively, for rGO, CeO₂, AgCeO₂, and rGO/AgCeO₂. SEM analysis of rGO/AgCeO₂ indicated that the agglomerated AgCeO₂ distributed over the surface of rGO. The elemental and chemical composition of the generated nanocomposites was ascertained using EDAX analysis. The band gap values are determined using UV-DRS analysis and the values are 3.3, 2.0, 1.9 and 1.5 eV, respectively, for rGO, CeO₂, AgCeO₂, and rGO/AgCeO₂. Surface area (~ 18.94 m²/g) and mesoporous value (Pore volume ~ 0.05 cm³/g) of the materials are attained from BET surface analysis. The oxidation state of the metals present in the rGO/AgCeO₂ nanocomposite was determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The synthesized CeO₂, AgCeO₂, and rGO/AgCeO₂ were subjected for dye degradation processes using methylene blue as model pollutant and the results revealed that rGO/AgCeO₂ nanocomposite showed the highest percentage of degradation (98.1%) over a 60-min period.