Photocatalytic activity and wettability of RGO/TiO2 nanocomposites prepared by electrophoretic co-deposition

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/TiO2 nanocomposite coating was synthesized using electrophoretic co-deposition (EPD) of graphene oxide and TiO2 colloidal suspension. Direct assembly by EPD facilitated the transformation from GO to RGO and resulted in RGO/TiO2 films on Cu substrate. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The obtained results proved the presence of titania nanoparticles and RGO planes in the nanocomposite coatings and the reduction of GO during EPD process. Methylene blue photodegradation experiments showed that the degradation efficiency and the reduction rate of the contact angle increased in nanocomposite coatings by 12% and 15%, respectively. There is a direct correlation between the amount of RGO in the coating and the improvement of the photocatalytic activity and wettability.