▎ 摘　　要

A novel yttrium-doped graphene oxide (GOY) composite was prepared by a hydrothermal method. The morphology results showed that graphene oxide (GO) can successfully form a composite with yttrium and that the as-prepared GOY had a nanoflake structure. From the photoelectrochemical analysis and photoluminescence (PL) spectra, the primary role of GO in Y2O3 was confirmed as an electron conductor, which enhanced the photocurrent density. As expected, the as-obtained GOY composites had better photocatalytic performance for the decomposition of methylene blue molecules than bare GO and Y2O3. The 5 GOY (10 mg) could degrade MB (25 ppm) thoroughly (similar to 100%) within 10 min, which was quite comparable with the commercial TiO2 P25 under UV irradiation. In addition, a possible mechanism of photocatalysis is presented.