Aqueous-phase synthesis of Ag-TiO2-reduced graphene oxide and Pt-TiO2-reduced graphene oxide hybrid nanostructures and their catalytic properties

We demonstrate an aqueous solution method for the synthesis of a Ag-TiO2-reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrid nanostructure (NS) in which the Ag and TiO2 particles are well dispersed on the rGO sheet. The Ag-TiO2-rGO NS was then used as a template to synthesize Pt-TiO2-rGO NS. The resulting hybrid NSs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and catalytic studies. It was found that TiO2-rGO, Ag-TiO2-rGO and Pt-TiO2-rGO NSs all show catalytic activity for the reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol by NaBH4, and that Pt-TiO2-rGO NS exhibits the highest catalytic activity as well as excellent stability and easy recyclability. [graphic not available: see fulltext]