Enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of rGO/NiO/Ag nanocomposite for degradation of methylene blue dye

Abstract

The current study focuses on boosting the photocatalytic ability of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by decorating the rGO nano-sheets with nickel oxide (NiO_x) and silver (Ag) nanomaterials. The developed ternary nanomaterials were investigated using FTIR, XRD, FESEM, TEM, Raman, and UV-vis to evaluate the photo-degradation process. The rGO/NiO_x/Ag ternary system showed promising photocatalytic dye degradation under simulated sunlight irradiance. The addition of NiO_x and Ag nanomaterials widened the catalytic activity spectrum from the visible region to the UV-region. Besides, these materials hindered the electron–hole recombination, boosting the catalytic activity. The reusability results also clearly showed that the synthesized ternary nanomaterials have good reproducibility and stability for photocatalytic degradation of industrial wastewater.