Engineering Thermally Reduced Graphene Oxide for Synchronously Enhancing Photocatalytic Activity and Photothermal Effect

The structural composition of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) can be modified and controlled by appropriate reduction methods to modulate its electronic structure, rendering it a versatile platform for tailoring optoelectronic and catalytic properties. Nevertheless, it is uncommon to concurrently amplify the photocatalytic and photothermal effects when regulating and utilizing pure rGO. Here, we investigate the impact of structural variations in thermally reduced graphene oxide (TGO) on its photocatalytic and photothermal properties. Various characterization results demonstrate that appropriate thermal reduction facilitates the preservation and transformation of oxygenated groups and structure defects, which in turn encourages the formation of reactive carbon radicals and discrete graphitic domains, thereby strengthening the activation of molecular oxygen and the plasmonic photothermal effect under near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation. Moreover, the optimized TGOs exhibit efficient sterilization with NIR irradiation due to enhanced photocatalytic activities and photothermal effects. This work highlights the potential for developing photocatalytic and photothermal rGO-based materials through structural engineering.