Enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of rGO/NiO/Ag nanocomposite for degradation of methylene blue dye.

ABSTRACT

The current study focuses on boosting the photocatalytic ability of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by decorating the rGO nano-sheets with nickel oxide (NiOx) and silver (Ag) nanomaterials. The developed ternary nanomaterials were investigated using FTIR, XRD, FESEM, TEM, Raman, and UV-vis to evaluate the photo-degradation process. The rGO/NiOx/Ag ternary system showed promising photocatalytic dye degradation under simulated sunlight irradiance. The addition of NiOx and Ag nanomaterials widened the catalytic activity spectrum from the visible region to the UV-region. Besides, these materials hindered the electron-hole recombination, boosting the catalytic activity. The reusability results also clearly showed that the synthesized ternary nanomaterials have good reproducibility and stability for photocatalytic degradation of industrial wastewater.