Titanium Oxide Composites with Graphene and Laser-Induced Graphene for the Environmental Applications

Carbon-based nanomaterials have strongly impacted the field of nanotechnology due to its physical, electronic, and chemical properties. Amongst various carbon-based nanomaterials, graphene-based nanocomposite materials are gaining the attention of researchers globally as novel materials for biomedical, energy, electronic, and environmental applications. Graphene has unique physico-chemical properties, especially its exceptionally high-specific surface area, mechanical strength, electron mobility, and thermal conductivity. However, conventional methods such as micromechanical exfoliation, Hummers method, CVD etc. for graphene synthesis are tedious and multi-step processes, particularly when we are fabricating surfaces such as electrodes. Laser-induced graphene (LIG) is recently developed single-step facile method incorporates direct laser print graphene on any carbonaceous material by using 10.6 µm CO2 infrared laser. However, graphene itself contains low-catalytic properties which generate demand for heteroatom doping, for instance, titanium oxide TiOx (i.e. TiO2 as a photocatalyst and Magneli phases TinOn-1 as an electrocatalyst) are considered as a noble catalyst for environmental application whose catalysis reaction results in some environmental friendly by-products such as CO2 and H2O in most of the cases. The incorporation of TiOx with graphene enhances the catalysis reaction as this composite cause the working of TiO2 more efficiently in solar light and provides a free pathway for electron movement enhancing the electrocatalytic property of Magneli phase-graphene composite. The current chapter includes the basic introduction of graphene as carbon-based nanomaterials, advantages, and disadvantages of its synthesis by conventional methods and the latest method by laser. Additionally, this chapter provides an insight of TiOx doping in graphene and its effect on electrochemical and photochemical catalytic performances.