Scalable synthesis of sub-nanosized platinum-reduced graphene oxide composite by an ultraprecise photocatalytic method

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b04148

In this work, an industrially scalable method for a precisely controlled deposition of subnanosized metallic particles (e.g., platinum) on reduced graphene oxide has been developed. Partially reduced graphene oxide, a band gap engineered form of graphene, has been utilized for two purposes: the reduction of the metallic particles and a support layer. For the partial reduction, graphene oxide has been treated with a highly concentrated sodium hydroxide solution and the reduction process has been continued (and monitored) until obtaining a stable product. The chemical stability and band gap modulation process of the partially reduced graphene oxide have been discussed comprehensively. We have shown that the graphene oxide which also exhibits semiconducting properties is not a suitable choice as a photocatalyst material mainly because of its chemical instability and considerable photocorrosion. An innovative reactor with large-scale production capacity for pulsed UV illumination and continuous treatment of the reaction suspensions has been designed. A simple flow control in this reactor enables us to have precise control of the number of photoexcited electrons and consequently of the photodeposition of the subnanosized Pt particles.