Fabrication of flower-like TiO2 on Bucky paper with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract

The difficulty of recycling and low photocatalytic efficiency in the visible light significantly limit the use of nano-TiO2 in water pollution control. In this work, Bucky papers (BPs), which play a vital role for adsorption of pollutants and transfer of electrons, are introduced as substrates to fabricate and anchor TiO2 nanorods by a facile hydrothermal method. The photocatalytic properties of the TiO2 and BP composites (TiO2@BP) are studied by photodegrading methylene blue in water solutions. It is found that TiO2@BP possesses four times photocatalytic efficiency for methylene blue of TiO2@Si under ultraviolet light irradiation and 10 times under visible light irradiation. This is considered to be attributed to the synergic effect of TiO2@BP system and surface defects of TiO2 nanorods. The TiO2@BP also shows a stable photocatalytic property even after five cyclic photocatalytic degradation. This study indicates that TiO2@BP is a promising candidate for photocatalytic applications, which provides a reference for further research on synthesis of reusable photocatalysts with higher efficiency.