Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol.111, 303-308, 2012
Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under visible irradiation on graphene@TiO2 dyade structure
Electron-hole recombination limits the efficiency of TiO2. We have investigated the efficacy with which the graphene@TiO2 "dyade"-like structure reduced charge recombination and enhanced reactivity. A visible-light photocatalysis of graphene@TiO2 "dyade"-like structure was synthesized, and photocatalytic degradation of organic compounds over the UV and visible-light spectrum regions was investigated. The graphene@TiO2 had anatase phase and was able to absorb a high amount of photo energy in the visible-light region, driving effectively photochemical degradation reactions. There were more (OH)-O-center dot radicals produced by the graphene@TiO2 (1:3) than by pure TiO2 under UV and visible-light irradiation. Graphene can enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 in two aspects, namely, e(-) transportation and adsorption. This work provides new insight into the fabrication of graphene@TiO2 as a high performance visible-light photocatalyst and facilitates its application in photocatalytic degradation of organic compounds. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.