Abstract: Photocatalytic performance of titanium oxide (TiO₂) was boost up by preparing TiO₂/ reduced graphene oxide (TiO₂/ GR) composites using sol–gel method. These composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman and UV-Visible spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of photocatalyst was examined by the recording the degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye under UV irradiation. It was found that degradation was 1.67 times faster for TiO₂/ GR (200mg) catalyst as compared to pure TiO₂. The photocatalytic activities of different phases of TiO₂ were also studied and results revealed that the degradation was faster in anatase phase of TiO₂ as compared to rutile phase. UV–Visible spectra showed that the increase in catalyst loading raise the degradation of MO up to a certain limit.
 
Key words: Photocatalysis, Sol-Gel, TiO₂/ GR composite, UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction.

Cite: Sumita Rani, Mukesh Kumar, Sumit Sharma, Dinesh Kumar, "Effect of Reduced Graphene Oxide and Annealing Temperature on the Photocatalytic Properties of Titanium Oxide," International Journal of Materials Science and Engineering, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 267-278, December 2015. doi: 10.17706/ijmse.2015.3.4.267-278