Minimizing Graphene Defects Enhances Titania Nanocomposite-Based Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 for Improved Solar Fuel Production

With its unique electronic and optical properties, graphene is proposed to functionalize and tailor titania photocatalysts for improved reactivity. The two major solution-based pathways for producing graphene, oxidation–reduction and solvent exfoliation, result in nanoplatelets with different defect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nano letters 2011-07, Vol.11 (7), p.2865-2870
Main Authors: Liang, Yu Teng, Vijayan, Baiju K, Gray, Kimberly A, Hersam, Mark C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon dioxide
Carbon Dioxide - chemistry
Catalysis
Catalytic methods
Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Defects
Density
Electron states and collective excitations in thin films, multilayers, quantum wells, mesoscopic and nanoscale systems
Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures
Electronics
Exact sciences and technology
Fullerenes and related materials
diamonds, graphite
Graphene
Graphite - chemistry
Materials science
Methods of nanofabrication
Nanocomposites - chemistry
Nanostructure
Nanotechnology
Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation
Optical properties of low-dimensional, mesoscopic, and nanoscale materials and structures
Oxidation-Reduction
Particle Size
Photocatalysis
Photochemistry
Physics
Solar Energy
Specific materials
Surface Properties
Titanium - chemistry
Titanium dioxide
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Summary:With its unique electronic and optical properties, graphene is proposed to functionalize and tailor titania photocatalysts for improved reactivity. The two major solution-based pathways for producing graphene, oxidation–reduction and solvent exfoliation, result in nanoplatelets with different defect densities. Herein, we show that nanocomposites based on the less defective solvent-exfoliated graphene exhibit a significantly larger enhancement in CO2 photoreduction, especially under visible light. This counterintuitive result is attributed to their superior electrical mobility, which facilitates the diffusion of photoexcited electrons to reactive sites.
ISSN:1530-6984
1530-6992
DOI:10.1021/nl2012906