Sunlight-Triggered Dye Degradation and Antibacterial Activity of Graphene-Iron Oxide—Titanium Dioxide Heterostructure Nanocomposites

Iron oxide (Fe(2)O(3))-titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) heterostructure nanocomposite has been used for contaminant decomposition and antibacterial application. However, both the photogenerated electrons and holes of TiO(2) may transfer to Fe(2)O(3) due to straddling band alignment in type-I heterostructure, which is not helpful to more efficiently inhibit the electron-hole recombination. In this paper graphene-Fe(2)O(3)-TiO(2) (GFT) heterostructure nanocomposites (NCs) were fabricated to facilitate the separation of photo-induced electrons and holes according to their staggered energy level, further improve dye degradation efficiency and antibacterial activity. GFT NCs were fabricated through a simple hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction patterns and transmission electron microscopy images indicated that Fe(2)O(3) and TiO(2) were successfully loaded on graphene. UV-Vis spectra showed that GFT NCs had higher absorption against sunlight. Under simulated sunlight irradiation, GFT NCs could effectively degraded dyes and inhibit bacterial growth.