Luminescence, Paramagnetic, and Electrochemical Properties of Copper Oxides-Decorated TiO2/Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites

Abstract

The properties of newly synthesized Cu2O/CuO-decorated TiO2/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites (NC) were analyzed aiming to obtain insight into their photocatalytic behavior and their various applications, including water remediation, self-cleaning surfaces, antibacterial materials, and electrochemical sensors. The physico-chemical methods of research were photoluminescence (PL), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry (CV), and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The solid samples evidenced an EPR signal that can be attributed to the oxygen-vacancy defects and copper ions in correlation with PL results. Free radicals generated before and after UV-Vis irradiation of powders and aqueous dispersions of Cu2O/CuO-decorated TiO2/GO nanocomposites were studied by EPR spectroscopy using two spin traps, DMPO (5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide) and CPH (1-hydroxy-3-carboxy-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine), to highlight the formation of hydroxyl and superoxide reactive oxygen species, respectively. The electrochemical characterization of the NC modified carbon-paste electrodes (CPE) was carried out by CV and DPV. As such, modified carbon-paste electrodes were prepared by mixing carbon paste with copper oxides-decorated TiO2/GO nanocomposites. We have shown that GO reduces the recombination process in TiO2 by immediate electron transfer from excited TiO2 to GO sheets. The results suggest that differences in the PL, respectively, EPR data and electrochemical behavior, are due to the different copper oxides and GO content, presenting new perspectives of materials functionalization.