Enhanced catalytic performance of reduced graphene oxide–TiO2 hybrids for efficient water treatment using microwave irradiation

Towards achieving efficient waste water treatment, the degradation of a common water pollutant, Orange G azo dye, was studied using a new hybrid catalyst and microwave irradiation. The fabrication of a hybrid catalyst based on reduced graphene oxide–titania (rGO–TiO2), was first achieved in a single mode microwave cavity by reducing the precursor consisting of graphene oxide (GO) and titania. Catalytic performance was then assessed in both microwave assisted and conventional heat treatment conditions. The hybrid catalyst showed significant improvement under microwave irradiation, with more than 88% dye degradation after 20 minutes of treatment at 120 °C. The microwave effect was found to be more dominant in the early stages of the catalysis – the hybrid catalyst decomposed ∼65% of the dye in just 5 minutes of microwave treatment compared to only 18% degradation obtained during conventional heating. The improved performance with microwaves is mainly attributed to the formation of the hot spots at the surface of the hybrid catalyst which ultimately results in higher degradation rates. The morphological and catalytic properties of the hybrid catalyst are investigated using High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) and UV-Vis Spectroscopy, respectively. Successful reduction of GO to rGO was confirmed using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The outstanding performance of microwave irradiated hybrids offers a viable low energy, low carbon footprint process with a new catalyst for wastewater treatment and for highly polluted wastewater conditions where photocatalysis is deemed not feasible.