Indium Tin-Oxide Wrapped 3D rGO and TiO₂ Composites: Development, Characterization, and Enhancing Photocatalytic Activity for Methylene Blue

A hybrid material of indium tin-oxide (ITO) wrapped titanium dioxide and reduced graphene oxide (ITO-rGO and TiO₂) was prepared using a facile hydrothermal technique. TiO₂ nanorods were in situ grown on the surface of rGO (rGO and TiO₂), and which was then assembled onto ITO substrate layer by layer with formation of a 3D structure. ITO-rGO and TiO₂ exhibit low charge transfer resistance at the electrode-electrolyte interface and have good photoresponsive ability. Methylene blue (MB) can be effectively adsorbed and enriched onto ITO-rGO and TiO₂ surface. The adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics of ITO-rGO and TiO₂ were evaluated, showing that the exothermic and entropy-driven reaction were the main thermodynamic processes, and the Langmuir isotherm was the ideal model for adsorption fitting. Meanwhile, ITO greatly improved degradation of rGO and TiO₂ because electrons can be collected by ITO before recombination and MB can easily enter into the 3D structure of rGO and TiO₂. The highest photodegradation rate of MB reached 93.40% for ITO-rGO and TiO₂ at pH 9. Additionally, ITO-rGO and TiO₂ successfully solved the problems of being difficult to recycle and causing secondary pollution of traditional TiO₂ catalysts. Therefore, ITO-rGO and TiO₂ may be a potential photocatalyst for degrading organic pollutants in water. View Full-Text