Fine cutting edge shaped Bi2O3rods/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite for supercapacitor and visible-light photocatalytic applications

D Maruthamani; S Vadivel; M Kumaravel; B Saravanakumar; Bappi Paul; Siddhartha Sankar Dhar; Aziz Habibi-Yangjeh; A Manikandan; Govindarajan Ramadoss

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2017.03.086

Fine cutting edge shaped Bi₂O₃rods/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite for supercapacitor and visible-light photocatalytic applications

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2017 Jul 15:498:449-459. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.03.086. Epub 2017 Mar 22.

Authors

D Maruthamani¹, S Vadivel², M Kumaravel¹, B Saravanakumar³, Bappi Paul⁴, Siddhartha Sankar Dhar⁴, Aziz Habibi-Yangjeh⁵, A Manikandan⁶, Govindarajan Ramadoss⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore 641004, India.
² Department of Chemistry, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore 641004, India. Electronic address: vlvelu7@gmail.com.
³ Department of Physics, Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi 642003, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology, Silchar 788010, Assam, India.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, PO Box 179, Ardabil, Iran.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Bharath University, Chennai 600 073, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁷ PSG Institute of Advanced Studies, Coimbatore 641004, India.

PMID: 28351011
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2017.03.086

Abstract

Bi₂O₃ rods/RGO composite has been synthesized by a simple precipitation and calcination method. The crystallnity, structural, and morphological features were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) techniques. The supercapacitor behavior was studied using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge discharge and impedance analysis, respectively. The Bi₂O₃ rods/RGO nanocomposite exhibits a maximum specific capacitance of 1041Fg^-1 at a current density of 2Ag^-1. The photocatalytic activity of Bi₂O₃ rods/RGO composite was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under visible-light irradiation. The enhancement of photocatalytic properties of Bi₂O₃ rods/RGO composite attributed to the synergistic effect between Bi₂O₃ rods and graphene sheets which effectively prevents recombination of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs in Bi₂O₃ rods. The present study provides a new approach in improving the performance of Bi₂O₃ rods/RGO composite in energy and environmental applications.

Keywords: Bi(2)O(3) rods; Calcination; Graphene; Photocatalyst; Supercapacitor.