CeO-rGO Composites for Photocatalytic H Evolution by Glycerol Photoreforming.

The interaction between CeO-GO or CeO-rGO and gold as co-catalysts were here investigated for solar H production by photoreforming of glycerol. The materials were prepared by a solar photoreduction/deposition method, where in addition to the activation of CeO the excited electrons were able to reduce the gold precursor to metallic gold and the GO into rGO. The presence of gold was fundamental to boost the H production, whereas the GO or the rGO extended the visible-light activity of cerium oxide (as confirmed by UV-DRS).

One-Pot Synthesis of TiO-rGO Photocatalysts for the Degradation of Groundwater Pollutants.

A non-conventional approach to prepare titanium dioxide-reduced graphene oxide (TiO-rGO) nanocomposites based on solar photoreduction is here presented. The standard hydro-solvothermal synthesis of the TiO-rGO composites requires high temperatures and several steps, whereas the proposed one-pot preparation allows one to obtain the photocatalysts with a simple and green procedure, by exploiting the photocatalytic properties of titania activated by the solar irradiation. The TiO-rGO catalysts were tested in the solar photodegradation of a widely adopted toxic herbicide (2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, 2,4-D), obtaining the 97% of degradation after 3 h of irradiation.