Fabrication of graphene films on TiO2 nanotube arrays for photocatalytic application

Abstract Graphene film was formed on the surface of titanium dioxide nanotube (TiO 2 NT) arrays through in situ electrochemical reduction of a graphene oxide dispersion by cyclic voltammetry. The residual oxygen-containing groups and other structural defects such as sp 3 -hybridized carbons in the electrodeposited graphene were further removed by photo-assisted reduction of the underlying TiO 2 NTs, thus achieving the maximum restoration of π-conjugation in the graphene planes. Spectroscopic, electrochemical, and photoelectrochemical techniques were used to characterize the graphene films, and the use of the resulting graphene–TiO 2 NT material in photocatalysis was investigated. The results showed that the graphene–TiO 2 NT material exhibited a greatly improved photocatalytic activity compared with unmodified TiO 2 NTs.