Fabrication of Graphene Oxide on CdS- and PbS-Doped Bismuth Titanates for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

A nanocomposite consisting of graphene oxide (GO), cadmium sulfide (CdS), lead sulfide (PbS), and bismuth titanate (BT) was synthesized using the hydrothermal method. The structural and morphological characteristics of the nanocomposites were determined using various techniques. A shift in the x-ray diffraction peak positions of the GO-substituted samples indicates the successful integration of GO into the cadmium sulfide/bismuth titanate (CdS/BT) and lead sulfide/bismuth titanate (PbS/BT) matrices. The UV-visible spectra of the GO-reinforced bismuth Titanate show a decrease in the band gap of the nanocomposites. The presence of peaks at 1616 cm⁻¹ and 954 cm⁻¹ in the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy spectra confirms the incorporation of GO into the CdS/BT and PbS/BT samples. The photocatalytic performance of the materials was assessed through water-splitting experiments using methanol as a sacrificial agent. The results indicate that the GO composite with PbS/BT samples achieved the highest hydrogen production yield, measuring 438.21 μmolg⁻¹.