Morphological, structural and optical properties of dye-doped graphene-supported TiO2 nanotubes for solar water splitting applications.

Solar water splitting has attained much attention in recent years for renewable and clean production of hydrogen from water under irradiation by sunlight. Solar water splitting has been progressively at the forefront of chemical research and also provides a promising path for sustainable hydrogen production. TiO₂ has a wide range of applications and is considered as one of the most propitious semiconductors due to its photo-stability, low price and chemical stability. TiO₂ nanotubes have been prepared by using electrochemical anodization method followed by organic dye deposited onto the TiO₂ nanotubes. rGO-supported TiO₂ nanotubes and dye-doped graphene-supported TiO₂ nanotubes show more efficient behavior for water splitting as compared to pure TiO₂ nanotubes. The surface morphology, elemental composition, structure and size of the nanocrystalline TiO₂ nanotubes and dye-doped graphene-supported TiO₂ nanotubes were examined by using SEM, XRD, EDX and UV/Visible spectroscopy, respectively. Dye-doped graphene-supported TiO₂ nanotubes have been utilized for efficient solar water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]