Restructural confirmation and photocatalytic applications of graphene oxide-gold composites synthesized by Langmuir-Blodgett method

We present a first report on the use of Langmuir Blodgett (LB) technique for the synthesis of edge decorated graphene oxide gold (GO-Au) nanostructures by simple manipulation of electrostatic interactions. The GO-Au nanostructures when characterized using spectroscopy, surface, chemical and micro structural techniques, displayed unique physical and structural properties. The results re-established the theoretical corroboration that the carboxyl groups are primarily located at the edges of the 2D sheets of GO. The exploitation of air-water interface platform makes this process novel and fundamentally different from existing protocols for synthesis of GO-metal composites. These GO-Au hybrid materials favoured visible-light driven plasmonic photo catalysis together with enhanced charge separation and transportation properties, resulting in the augmentation of photocatalytic activity and conductivity with high transmittance. A plausible reaction mechanism for the degradation of pollutant dye and the role of gold nanoparticles (NPs) on GO has been established. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.