Facile Synthesis of Ag Nanowire/TiO2 and Ag Nanowire/TiO2/GO Nanocomposites for Photocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B

This paper investigates the photocatalytic characteristics of Ag nanowire (AgNW)/TiO2 and AgNW/TiO2/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites. Samples were synthesized by the direct coating of TiO2 particles on the surface of silver nanowires. As-prepared AgNW/TiO2 and AgNW/TiO2/GO nanocomposites were characterized by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV/visible absorption spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images confirmed the successful deposition of TiO2 nanoparticles on the surface of AgNWs. The photocatalytic activity of synthesized nanocomposites was evaluated using Rhodamine B (RhB) in an aqueous solution as the model organic dye. Results showed that synthesized AgNW/TiO2/GO nanocomposite has superior photocatalytic activities when it comes to the decomposition of RhB.