One-pot polyelectrolyte assisted hydrothermal synthesis of TiO 2-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite

We demonstrated a facile and efficient strategy for the fabrication of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA)-assisted reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets-titanium dioxide (TiO 2) in the absence of any seeds and surfactants. PDDA is used as both a reducing agent and a stabilizer to prepare the colloidal suspension of graphene nanosheets. The incorporation of PDDA successfully turns graphene nanosheets into general platforms for in situ growth of TiO 2. The prepared TiO 2-RGO has been thoroughly characterized by spectroscopic (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and thermogravimetric analysis. Microscopy techniques (scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy) have been employed to probe the morphological structures as well as to investigate the exfoliation of RGO sheets. It is interesting to see that the TiO 2-RGO composites exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity to hydrogen evolution. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.