Construction and investigation on perovskite-type SrTiO3 @ reduced graphene oxide hybrid nanocomposite for enhanced photocatalytic performance

Abstract To construct rGO/SrTiO3 nanocomposite using a facile hydrothermal synthetic approach for enhanced photocatalytic application. In this study, the structural, morphological, elemental, surface compositional, optical properties, and photocatalytic activity of rGO/SrTiO3 nanocomposites were investigated. From the various analyses, the synthesized nanocomposites produce heterostructure formation between reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and SrTiO3. By the optical analysis, the results showed that prepared ESG 10 photocatalyst has efficient charge separation and migration with suppressed recombination probability of photogenic charge carriers. The photocatalytic reactivity of the synthesised photocatalysts was evaluated by methylene blue (MB) aqueous dye and 2-nitrophenol (2-NP) degradation under UV-Visible (UV-Vis.) light irradiation. Therefore, the ESG 10 photocatalyst exhibited a maximum removal efficiency of 91% and 81% over MB dye and 2-NP, respectively. In contrast to other samples, the introduction of rGO could suggestively enhance the photocatalytic activity by increasing the amount of rGO, and the degradation rate was also reduced after the optimal level of rGO. The radicals involved in the degradation process are investigated by scavenger experiments. The recycle experiment reveals that the ESG 10 photocatalyst does not show any major loss of activity after 4 consecutive runs. Meanwhile, the possible reaction mechanism and interface characteristics are also discussed.