Reduction of Graphene Oxide using purple cabbage extract and investigation of photocatalytic activity by oxidation

Abstract

Graphene and its derivatives are an important material with many unique properties and potential in photocatalytic degradation and adsorption applications. Removal of oxygen-containing functional groups by reduction of graphene oxide (GO) is an interesting method that has been used frequently in recent years. The aim of this study is to examine graphene oxide reduction by using green synthesis and purple cabbage aqueous extraxt, which is an easy and effective method, and its use in photocatalytic removal applications. To optimize the synthesis conditions, the reaction temperature was first studied at 25, 50, and 100℃, and then the reaction time was studied for 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours. According to XRD, FTIR, UV/vis and SEM results, suitable experimental conditions for GO reduction are obtained at reaction temperature of 100℃ and reaction time of 6 h. The obtained reduced graphene oxide (IGO) was used in photocatalytic degradation experiments in the aqueous solution of methylene blue (MM), an organic and cationic dye, under UV lamp and in the presence of H2O2. The results showed that after 120 min, IGO removed 85% of MM from the aqueous solution. It was determined that the MM photocatalytic degradation reaction kinetics of IGO matched the pseudo second-order reaction kinetics.