Fabrication of TiO2-graphene photocatalyst by direct chemical vapor deposition and its anti-fouling property

Abstract In this report, we demonstrated a successful fabrication of titanium dioxide (TiO2)-graphene composite for photocatalytic applications by direct deposition of graphene onto TiO2 nanoparticles (P25) via a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using methanol or propylene as the carbon sources. The successful formation of the graphene layer was confirmed from its Raman spectrum showing typical bands for graphitic structure. Furthermore, HR-TEM images of the composites showed a less than 1 nm-thick graphene layer surrounding the TiO2 particles. The TiO2-graphene composites exhibited approximately 2-fold higher photocatalytic activity than the bare TiO2 for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and estradiol as model pollutants. We also investigated the anti-fouling effect of the TiO2-graphene composite and the bare TiO2 previously immersed in synthetic groundwater (SGW). The kinetic constants of photo-degradation on TiO2-graphene composites immersed in SGW containing a foulant exhibit enhancement of an anti-fouling effect compared to the bare TiO2. The graphene was thought to protect the TiO2 from the foulant.

[1]  Dong Yang,et al.  Carbon and Nitrogen Co-doped TiO2 with Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity , 2007 .

[2]  J. Temmyo,et al.  Nitrogen doping in cuprous oxide films synthesized by radical oxidation at low temperature , 2013 .

[3]  J. Figueiredo,et al.  Nanodiamond-TiO2 Composites for Heterogeneous Photocatalysis. , 2013, ChemPlusChem.

[4]  C. Xie,et al.  Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Chemically Bonded TiO2/Graphene Composites Based on the Effective Interfacial Charge Transfer through the C–Ti Bond , 2013 .

[5]  A. Galeckas,et al.  Influence of graphene synthesizing techniques on the photocatalytic performance of graphene-TiO2 nanocomposites. , 2013, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[6]  Mietek Jaroniec,et al.  Synergetic effect of MoS2 and graphene as cocatalysts for enhanced photocatalytic H2 production activity of TiO2 nanoparticles. , 2012, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[7]  S. Martin,et al.  Environmental Applications of Semiconductor Photocatalysis , 1995 .

[8]  Haijiao Zhang,et al.  A facile one-step synthesis of TiO2/graphene composites for photodegradation of methyl orange , 2011 .

[9]  H. Fredriksson,et al.  Preparation and characterization of TiO2/carbon composite thin films with enhanced photocatalytic activity , 2011 .

[10]  R. Asahi,et al.  Visible-Light Photocatalysis in Nitrogen-Doped Titanium Oxides , 2001, Science.

[11]  U. Diebold,et al.  Surface studies of nitrogen implanted TiO2 , 2007 .

[12]  Xianzhi Fu,et al.  TiO2-graphene nanocomposites for gas-phase photocatalytic degradation of volatile aromatic pollutant: is TiO2-graphene truly different from other TiO2-carbon composite materials? , 2010, ACS nano.

[13]  Yuehe Lin,et al.  Graphene/TiO2 nanocomposites: synthesis, characterization and application in hydrogen evolution from water photocatalytic splitting , 2010 .

[14]  H. Fu,et al.  Efficient TiO2 Photocatalysts from Surface Hybridization of TiO2 Particles with Graphite‐like Carbon , 2008 .

[15]  A. Fujishima,et al.  TiO2 Photocatalysis: A Historical Overview and Future Prospects , 2005 .

[16]  M. Chhowalla,et al.  A review of chemical vapour deposition of graphene on copper , 2011 .

[17]  Ming-hua Zhou,et al.  Co-deposition of photocatalytic Fe doped TiO2 coatings by MOCVD , 2006 .

[18]  Lutz Mädler,et al.  Flame sprayed visible light-active Fe-TiO2 for photomineralisation of oxalic acid , 2007 .

[19]  J. Temmyo,et al.  Single cuprous oxide films synthesized by radical oxidation at low temperature for PV application. , 2013, Optics express.

[20]  Huihui Liu,et al.  Fabrication of a Contamination-Free Interface between Graphene and TiO2 Single Crystals , 2016, ACS omega.

[21]  P. Kamat,et al.  TiO2-graphene nanocomposites. UV-assisted photocatalytic reduction of graphene oxide. , 2008, ACS nano.

[22]  J. Gole,et al.  Enhanced Nitrogen Doping in TiO2 Nanoparticles , 2003 .

[23]  K. Sumathy,et al.  A review and recent developments in photocatalytic water-splitting using TiO2 for hydrogen production , 2007 .

[24]  E. Mijowska,et al.  Carbon-modified TiO2 for photocatalysis , 2012, Nanoscale Research Letters.

[25]  D. Dionysiou,et al.  Nanodiamond–TiO2 composites for photocatalytic degradation of microcystin-LA in aqueous solutions under simulated solar light , 2015 .

[26]  K. Asai,et al.  Preparation of S-doped TiO2 photocatalysts and their photocatalytic activities under visible light , 2004 .

[27]  Qinghong Zhang,et al.  Nanocomposites of TiO2 and Reduced Graphene Oxide as Efficient Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution , 2011 .

[28]  Sanjaya D. Perera,et al.  Hydrothermal synthesis of graphene-TiO 2 nanotube composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity , 2012 .

[29]  A. Fujishima,et al.  TiO2 photocatalysis and related surface phenomena , 2008 .

[30]  José L. Figueiredo,et al.  Design of graphene-based TiO2 photocatalysts—a review , 2012, Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

[31]  S. Stankovich,et al.  Synthesis of graphene-based nanosheets via chemical reduction of exfoliated graphite oxide , 2007 .

[32]  Václav Štengl,et al.  TiO2–Graphene Nanocomposite as High Performace Photocatalysts , 2011 .

[33]  Xiaoling Yang,et al.  Preparation of graphene–TiO2 composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity , 2011 .

[34]  M. Hoffmann,et al.  Oxidative Power of Nitrogen-Doped TiO2 Photocatalysts under Visible Illumination , 2004 .

[35]  Yueming Li,et al.  P25-graphene composite as a high performance photocatalyst. , 2010, ACS nano.

[36]  A. Geim,et al.  Two-dimensional gas of massless Dirac fermions in graphene , 2005, Nature.