In-situ assembled GO/TiO2 and GO/TiO2/PANI nanocomposites for the enhanced photocatalytic degradation of benzene and toluene
Saddam Husain, Syahidah Akmal Muhammad, Khozema Ahmed Ali, Mohd Saquib Tanweer, Nafees Ahmad
Abstract
The present study deals with developing ternary nanocomposites containing rice husk-derived graphene oxide (GO), polyaniline (PANI), and titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanocomposite, namely, GO/TiO 2 /PANI, and applied for the photocatalytic degradation of noxious organic pollutants including benzene and toluene. The GO/TiO 2 /PANI was characterized by standard analytical techniques, i.e., Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, RAMAN spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, and thermogravimetric analysis. The UV–visible diffuse reflectance (UV–Vis) spectroscopy was employed to determine the bandgap energy of the prepared nanocomposite matrix. The nanocomposite material showed improved photocatalytic activity due to the reduced bandgap of GO/TiO 2 /PANI (2.8 eV). It was found that the GO/TiO 2 /PANI nanocomposite showed significant degradation capabilities for benzene (99.81%) and toluene (99.16%), respectively, using a stock solution of 60 parts per million (ppm) under UV–Vis exposure compared to reported GO/TiO 2 in the absence of light. The GO/TiO 2 /PANI nanocomposite could be effectively employed for photodegradation aromatic pollutants (e.g., benzene and toluene) based on significant photocatalytic activity.