Effect of TNR/Ag/rGO film area on its photocatalytic activity

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study of the effect of the area of nanocomposite films formed by titanium dioxide nanorods, silver nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide (TNR/Ag/rGO) on its photocatalytic activity. The active area of the nanocomposite films was S=1cm2, S=1.5cm2, S=2cm2, S=3cm2. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was assessed by the value of the generated photocurrent per unit surface of the film and the photodegradation of the methylene blue dye when the surface was illuminated with a light source from a xenon lamp (300 W). A film with an area of 1 cm2 generated 0.00042 A/cm2. With increasing film area S=1.5 cm2, S=2cm2, S=3cm2, the photocurrent density was 0.00035 A/cm2, 0.00028 A/cm2, 0.00013 A/cm2, respectively. It was found that in the absence of a nanocomposite film, the degradation of the dye is negligible. When the TNR/Ag/rGO film was immersed in a dye solution, the degradation of the dye increased and amounted to 32, 59, 70 and 81 % for S=1cm2, S=1.5 cm2, S=2cm2, S=3cm2 with an irradiation duration of 240 minutes. The results obtained suggested that as the active surface area of the films increases, their photocatalytic activity decreases. The decrease in photocatalytic activity is associated with surface defects and an increase in film resistance.