Controllable synthesis of titania/reduced graphite oxide nanocomposites with various titania phase compositions and their photocatalytic performance

A facile method is presented for preparing TiO₂/reduced graphite oxide (RGO) nanocomposites with phase-controlled TiO₂ nanoparticles via redox reaction between the reductive titanium (III) precursor and graphite oxide (GO), and a series of TiO₂/RGO composites with various TiO₂ phase compositions were obtained. In all the titania/RGO composites, the TiO₂ nanoparticles were uniformly distributed on the surface of the RGO. The TiO₂ consisted of anatase phase particles in the form of square-plates with edges less than 10 nm and the rutile phase nanorods in diameters less than 10 nm. The performances of the as-prepared TiO₂/RGO composites were investigated on catalytically degrading phenol under visible light irradiation. The TiO₂/RGO composites can effectively degrade phenol under visible light irradiation, and the phase composition of TiO₂ in the composites significantly influences the activities of these catalysts.