title: Reduced graphene oxide-silver nanoparticle composite as visible light photocatalyst for degradation of colorless endocrine disruptors.
abstract: Sunlight-induced degradation of organic pollutants is an ideal approach for environmental pollution control and wastewater treatment. Although a variety of photocatalysts have been designed toward this goal, efficient degradation of colorless organic pollutants by visible light is a challenging issue. Here, we show that a reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-based composite with silver nanoparticle (rGO-Ag) can act as an efficient visible-light photocatalyst for the degradation of colorless organic pollutants. We have developed a simple, large-scale synthesis method for rGO-Ag and used it for the degradation of three well-known endocrine disruptors (phenol, bisphenol A, and atrazine) under UV and visible light. It is found that photocatalytic efficiency by rGO-Ag under visible light is significantly higher compared to that of rGO or silver nanoparticles. It is proposed that Ag nanoparticles offer visible-light-induced excitation of silver plasmons, and conductive rGO offers efficient charge separation and thus induces oxidative degradation of the organic pollutant. This approach can be extended for sunlight-induced degradation of different organic pollutants.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Materials, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science , Kolkata 700032, India.
authors.forename: Susanta Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Bhunia
authors.forename: Nikhil R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Jana
mesh_terms: D001280:Atrazine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002384:Catalysis; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry; D019800:Phenol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D010636:Phenols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D012834:Silver / Q000737:chemistry*; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds
chemical_list: D001280:Atrazine; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D006108:Graphite; D010087:Oxides; D019800:Phenol; D010636:Phenols; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D012834:Silver; C006780:bisphenol A; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds
keywords: endocrine disruptor; nanoparticle; photocatalysis; pollutant; reduced graphene oxide; surface plasmon