Photocatalytic Degradation of Dichlorvos using Graphite Oxide Based Catalysts

Graphite oxide (GO) is a p-type semiconductor prepared from graphite. It shows different properties than the other carbon allotropes. GO has more no of oxygen containing functional groups and has higher surface area. To harvest these properties, different semiconductor like TiO2 and WO3 were introduced into GO by photo deposition to prepare GO-TiO2 and GO-WO3 couple semiconductors respectively. Materials obtained were characterized by different techniques such as XRD, DRS UV, FTIR and TEM. To find out their photocatalytic ability, degradation of Dichlorvos, a model organochlorine as well as organophosphosphorous compound was carried out in aqueous suspension under visible light. The photocatalytic activity was correlated with various structural and chemical changes in graphite oxide due to the introduction of titania and tungsten trioxide. From the results it was observed that introduction of titania as well as tungsten trioxide greatly enhanced the photocatalytic activity of graphite oxide towards degradation of Dichlorvos. Among these two, GO-TiO2 was found to be highly active and showed complete degradation under visible light irradiation.