Preparation of graphene–TiO2 composite by hydrothermal method from peroxotitanium acid and its photocatalytic properties

In this paper, an environmentally friendly and efficient strategy for the preparation of titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles–reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite with hydrothermal process was demonstrated. First, we reduced graphene oxide to RGO by using dextran as reducing agent and surface modifier. Then the TiO2 nanoparticles were successfully prepared from a water soluble precursor, peroxotitanium acid and attached to dextran–RGO nanosheets due to hydrogen bond and van der Waals interactions. The structure and composition of the nanocomposite has been characterized by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The photodegradation and photoelectrochemical measurement results indicated that the as-prepared TiO2/RGO composite had an excellent photocatalytic activity, which would be promising for practical application in future nanotechnology.