Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol.226, 16-22, 2018
Hybridization of graphene oxide with commercial graphene for constructing 3D metal-free aerogel with enhanced photocatalysis
The electrical conductivity and charge carrier mobility of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) based 3D aerogel using graphene oxide (GO) as precursor is often restricted by the intrinsic population of defects and thus disruption of 2D pi-conjugation in the domain of RGO sheets. Here, we report a facile and efficient approach to improve the electrical conductivity of RGO aerogel by introducing highly conductive commercial Elicarb graphene (EGR). GO acting as a "macromolecular surfactant" can be used to simultaneously resolve the intrinsic drawback of low solution dispersibility of EGR and provides the basic skeleton for solution-processable synthesis of RGO@EGR-Eosin Y (RGO@EGR-EY) metal-free 3D aerogel composites. The as-synthesized RGO@EGR-EY aerogel with superior electrical conductivity facilitates more efficient separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers, and consequently exhibits much higher photocatalytic activity than RGO-EY aerogel. It is hoped that our current work could open promising prospects for the rational utilization of highly conductive commercial graphene to fabricate graphene-based aerogel for enhanced photoredox applications.