Investigation of the Photocatalytic Activity of Graphene Oxide and Phosphorylated Graphene Oxide-Based BaTiO3 Nanocomposites
摘要
This study investigates the synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic properties of graphene oxide (GO) and phosphorylated graphene oxide (PGO) integrated with barium titanate (BaTiO₃) to develop novel nanocomposites for enhanced photocatalytic applications. GO and PGO were synthesized via the Hummers’ method and subsequent phosphorylation, while BaTiO₃ was incorporated through a sol–gel technique. The resulting GO@BaTiO₃ and PGO@BaTiO₃ nanocomposites were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and diffuse reflectance UV–Vis spectroscopy to confirm successful synthesis and structural integration. The results showed that the phosphorus functionalization of GO disrupted its regular stacking, promoting structural disorder beneficial for photocatalysis. Both GO@BaTiO₃ and PGO@BaTiO₃ exhibited enhanced photocatalytic performance under visible light, with GO@BaTiO₃ achieving a 74.36% degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye, compared to 35% for pure BaTiO₃. These findings suggest that the incorporation of GO and PGO can significantly improve the photocatalytic efficiency of BaTiO₃, making these composites promising candidates for sustainable environmental applications, such as wastewater treatment and organic pollutant degradation.