preparation of a nanocomposite comprising graphene and α-FeO nanospindles for the photo-degradation of antibiotics under visible light

• Published in: New journal of chemistry 2020-09, Vol.44 (36), p.15567-15573
• Main Authors: Arora, Komal, Karthikeyan, Sekar, Shiekh, Bilal Ahmad, Kaur, Manvir, Singh, Harjinder, Bhadu, Gopala Ram, Kang, Tejwant Singh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/d0nj03190a

Few layer thick graphene sheets are exfoliated in an aqueous medium by using iron containing imidazolium based ionic liquid (IL; [C 16 mim][FeCl 4 ]) in high yield exhibiting excellent dispersion stability. Subsequently, IL that stabilizes the graphene sheets is exploited for the in situ preparation of α-Fe 2 O 3 nanospindle (NS) decorated graphene sheets, for the first time. The prepared α-Fe 2 O 3 @graphene nanocomposite (NC) shows enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of an antibiotic, sulfamethoxazole, under visible light. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the NCs as compared to bare α-Fe 2 O 3 NSs is probed using computational simulations, where graphene is observed to sensitize α-Fe 2 O 3 NSs in the photoexcitation process. This increases the electron charge density in the conduction band of α-Fe 2 O 3 NSs, resulting in enhanced photocatalytic efficiency. Preparation of α-Fe 2 O 3 nanospindle (NS) decorated graphene sheets for antibiotic degradation.