Silver/graphene nanocomposite: Thermal decomposition preparation and its catalytic performance

We developed a thermal decomposition approach for the preparation of silver/graphene nanocomposite in solid system using silver acetate nanoribbons as precursor and graphene nanosheets as substrate. Ag nanoparticles with a size distribution of 10–30 nm were observed on graphene nanosheets. The nanocomposite was employed as catalysts to reduce methylene blue in the presence of sodium borohydride. The results showed that the reaction rate of Ag/graphene nanocomposite was 9.2 times larger than that of Ag nanoparticles colloid, 34.6 times than that of graphene, indicating the excellent catalysis of the Ag/graphene nanocomposite.