Boron doped graphene oxide with enhanced photocatalytic activity for organic pollutants

Abstract

In present study, boron doped reduced graphene oxide (BR-GO) is synthesized by reducing graphene oxide (GO) in the presence of boric acid, and employed as a photocatalyst for the degradation of organic pollutants methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB). GO and BR-GO are systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV–vis spectroscopy. The modifications in the structure of GO are confirmed. The BR-GO has sheet structure with various graphene islands and disordered regions. The electrical conductivity has been measured using two-probe method. The conductance is explained by two-dimensional variable range hopping model. The photocatalytic activity of GO is enhanced on doping with boron due to increase in the density of states value near Fermi level. The adsorption mechanism and kinetic studies for the degradation of MB and MO dyes suggest that the photocatalytic degradation follows a pseudo-second order mechanism.