Graphene aerogel modified TiO 2 photocatalysts with high performances by controllable agglomeration behaviour of TiO 2 nanoparticles

• Published in: New journal of chemistry 2022-06, Vol.46 (25), p.12139-12147
• Main Authors: Sun, Yunfei, Sun, Jiawei, Que, Miaoling, Chen, Lixiang, Chen, Feng, Tang, Bo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/D2NJ01308H

The agglomeration behaviour of various semi-conductor nanoparticles (TiO 2 , ZnO, etc. ) is ubiquitous, which severely degrades the corresponding photocatalytic performances of intrinsic semiconductors and their composites. Graphene aerogel is prepared as a scaffold to combine with TiO 2 in this study, and the agglomeration degree of TiO 2 nanoparticles is controllable by adjusting the reaction conditions during the hydrothermal process. The lifetime of photoinduced electrons prolonged to 44% for the optimized sample compared to that of the pure TiO 2 , and the density of the active hydroxyl radical (the major activity material to degrade pollutant molecules) also enhanced significantly. Moreover, the BET area and adsorption ability were enhanced after the optimized reaction process. The degradation rates of rhodamine-B and phenol were as high as 1.84 × 10 −1 min −1 , 1.54 × 10 −2 min −1 (UV-light irradiation) and 1.08 × 10 −1 min −1 , 1.06 × 10 −2 min −1 (visible-light irradiation) using the optimized sample.