Photocatalytic activities using a nanocomposite of mesoporous SiO2 and CdInSe-graphene nanoparticles under visible light irradiation

The new novel ternary mesoporous SiO2/CdInSe-graphene composites with diameters of approximately 8.08 nm have been fabricated through a self-assembly method. All physical tests demonstrated that the CdInde-graphene was successfully uniformly distributed onto the surface of the ordered mesoporous silica particles. The obtained mesoporous SiO2/CdInSe-graphene composites exhibited good photocatalytic activity for degradation of both cationic-anionic organic dye groups, as well as the decomposition of the representative phenol group of the compound under visible light irradiation. Moreover, the photocatalytic evolution of hydrogen was studied for establishing a wider application of the as-fabricated SiO2/CdInSe-graphene catalyst in the case of energy conversion. This work indicated that the combination of the mesoporous silica and CdInSe-graphene enables achievements such as an enhancement photocatalytic performance, which has potential in industrial waste management and energy conversion.