Skip to main content
Log in

Novel titanium dioxide–graphene–activated carbon ternary nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic performance in rhodamine B and tetracycline hydrochloride degradation

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A novel ternary nanocomposite consisting of activated carbon (AC) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) decoration in the presence of reduced graphene oxide (TiO2–rGO–AC) was fabricated by a facile hydrothermal synthesis method for use as a high-performance photocatalyst. The as-prepared TiO2–rGO–AC nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that the TiO2 and activated carbon were well dispersed on the rGO surface. The photocatalytic performance of the TiO2–rGO–AC nanocomposite was evaluated as a catalyst for the photodegradation of rhodamine B. The degradation rate was 3.4 times higher than that of pure TiO2 under simulated solar light irradiation. The enhancement of photocatalytic performance is attributed to the adsorption of AC which significantly increased the organic molecule concentration near the catalytic surface, allowing the effective transfer and separation of photogenerated electrons. TiO2–rGO–AC photocatalyst is also effective for the degradation of tetracycline in aqueous solution, suggesting wide application of these nanocomposite materials in various fields including air purification and wastewater treatment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Huang Y, Ho SSH, Lu Y, Niu R, Xu L, Cao J, Lee S (2016) Removal of indoor volatile organic compounds via photocatalytic oxidation: a short review and prospect. Molecules 21:56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lin Y, Li D, Hu J, Xiao G, Wang J, Li W, Fu X (2012) Highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants by PANI-modified TiO2 composite. J Phys Chem C 116:5764–5772

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Leary R, Westwood A (2011) Carbonaceous nanomaterials for the enhancement of TiO2 photocatalysis. Carbon 49:741–772

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Zhu P, Nair AS, Peng SJ, Yang SY, Ramakrishna S (2012) Facile fabrication of TiO2–graphene composite with enhanced photovoltaic and photocatalytic properties by electrospinning. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 4:581–585

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Pelaez M, Nolan NT, Pillai SC, Seery MK, Falaras P, Kontos AG, Entezari MH (2012) A review on the visible light active titanium dioxide photocatalysts for environmental applications. Appl Catal B Environ 125:331–349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Zhang H, Lv XJ, Li YM, Wang Y, Li JH (2010) P25–Graphene composite as a high performance photocatalyst. ACS Nano 4:380–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Xiang Q, Yu J, Jaroniec M (2012) Graphene-based semiconductor photocatalysts. Chem Soc Rev 41:782–796

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Liu SW, Yu JG, Jaroniec M (2010) Tunable photocatalytic selectivity of hollow TiO2 microspheres composed of anatase polyhedra with exposed 001 facets. J Am Chem Soc 132:11914–11916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Yang HG, Sun CH, Qiao SZ, Zou J, Liu G, Smith SC, Cheng HM, Lu GQ (2008) Anatase TiO2 single crystals with a large percentage of reactive facets. Nature 453:638–641

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Ksibi M, Rossignol S, Tatibouet JM, Trapalis C (2008) Synthesis and solid characterization of nitrogen and sulfur-doped TiO2 photocatalysts active under near visible light. Mater Lett 62:4204–4206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Park JH, Kim S, Bard AJ (2006) Novel carbon-doped TiO2 nanotube arrays with high aspect ratios for efficient solar water splitting. Nano Lett 6:24–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Yu JG, Qi LF, Jaroniec M (2010) Hydrogen production by photocatalytic water splitting over Pt/TiO2 nanosheets with exposed (001) facets. J Phys Chem C 114:13118–13125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Xiang QJ, Yu JG, Cheng B, Ong HC (2010) Microwave-hydrothermal preparation and visible-light photoactivity of plasmonic photocatalyst Ag–TiO2 nanocomposite hollow spheres. Chem Asian J 5:1466–1474

    Google Scholar 

  14. Woan K, Pyrgiotakis G, Sigmund W (2009) Photocatalytic carbon-nanotube–TiO2 composites. Adv Mater 21:2233–2239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Yu JG, Zhang J, Jaroniec M (2010) Preparation and enhanced visible-light photocatalytic H2-production activity of CdS quantum dots-sensitized Zn1−x Cd x S solid solution. Green Chem 12:1611–1614

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Zhang XY, Li HP, Cui XL, Lin YJ (2010) Graphene/TiO2 nanocomposites: synthesis, characterization and application in hydrogen evolution from water photocatalytic splitting. J Mater Chem 20:2801–2806

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Przepiorski J, Yoshizawa N, Yamada Y (2001) Activated carbons containing TiO2: characterization and influence of a preparation method on the state of TiO2 supported. J Mater Sci 36:4249–4257. doi:10.1023/A:1017941610608

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Perera SD, Mariano RG, Vu K, Nour N, Seitz O, Chabal Y, Balkus KJ (2012) Hydrothermal synthesis of graphene–TiO2 nanotube composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity. ACS Catal 2:949–956

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Lightcap IV, Kosel TH, Kamat PV (2010) Anchoring semiconductor and metal nanoparticles on a two-dimensional catalyst mat. Storing and shuttling electrons with reduced graphene oxide. Nano Lett 10:577–583

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Prezhdo OV, Kamat PV, Schatz GC (2011) Virtual issue: graphene and functionalized grapheme. J Phys Chem C 115:3195–3197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Zhang H, Lv XJ, Li YM, Wang Y, Li JH (2010) P25–graphene composite as a high performance photocatalyst. ACS Nano 4:380–386

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Liu J, Bai H, Wang Y, Liu Z, Zhang X, Sun DD (2010) Self-assembling TiO2 nanorods on large graphene oxide sheets at a two-phase interface and their anti-recombination in photocatalytic applications. Adv Funct Mater 20:4175–4181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Wang X, Hu Z, Chen Y, Zhao G, Liu Y, Wen Z (2009) A novel approach towards high-performance composite photocatalyst of TiO2 deposited on activated carbon. Appl Surf Sci 255:3953–3958

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Andronic L, Enesca A, Cazan C, Visa M (2014) TiO2–active carbon composites for wastewater photocatalysis. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 71:396–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Tryba B, Toyoda M, Morawski AW, Inagaki M (2005) Modification of carbon-coated TiO2 by iron to increase adsorptivity and photoactivity for phenol. Chemosphere 60:477–484

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Tryba B, Morawski AW, Inagaki M (2003) Application of TiO2-mounted activated carbon to the removal of phenol from water. Appl Catal B Environ 41:427–433

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Tsumura T, Kojitani N, Umemura H, Toyoda M, Inagaki M (2002) Composites between photoactive anatase-type TiO2 and adsorptive carbon. Appl Surf Sci 196:429–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Velasco LF, Parra JB, Ania CO (2010) Role of activated carbon features on the photocatalytic degradation of phenol. Appl Surf Sci 256:5254–5258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Wang WD, Silva CG, Faria JL (2007) Photocatalytic degradation of chromotrope 2R using nanocrystalline TiO2/activated-carbon composite catalysts. Appl Catal B Environ 70:470–478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Ao YH, Xu JJ, Fua DG, Shen XW, Yuan CW (2008) Low temperature preparation of anatase TiO2-coated activated carbon. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 312:125–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Stankovich S, Dikin DA, Piner RD, Kohlhaas KA, Kleinhammes A, Jia Y, Wu Y, Nguyenb ST, Ruoff RS (2007) Synthesis of graphene-based nanosheets via chemical reduction of exfoliated graphite oxide. Carbon 45:1558–1565

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Guo HL, Wang XF, Qian QY, Wang FB, Xia XH (2009) A green approach to the synthesis of graphene nanosheets. ACS Nano 3:2653–2659

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Luo G, Jiang X, Li M, Shen Q, Zhang L, Yu H (2013) Facile fabrication and enhanced photocatalytic performance of Ag/AgCl/rGO heterostructure photocatalyst. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 5:2161–2168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Shimodaira N, Masui A (2002) Raman spectroscopic investigations of activated carbon materials. J Appl Phys 92:902–909

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Zheng C, Zhou X, Cao H, Wang G, Liu ZJ (2014) Synthesis of porous graphene/activated carbon composite with high packing density and large specific surface area for supercapacitor electrode material. Power Sources 258:290–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Chen S, Hong J, Yang H, Yang J (2013) Adsorption of uranium (VI) from aqueous solution using a novel graphene oxide-activated carbon felt composite. J Environ Radioact 126:253–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Elmolla ES, Chaudhuri M (2010) Photocatalytic degradation of amoxicillin, ampicillin and cloxacillin antibiotics in aqueous solution using UV/TiO2 and UV/H2O2/TiO2 photocatalysis. Desalination 252:46–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Abellán MN, Bayarri B, Giménez J, Costa J (2007) Photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole in aqueous suspension of TiO2. Appl Catal B Environ 74:233–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundations of China (21375051, 21505057), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20150227), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, the Brand Major of Universities in Jiangsu Province, and the Top-notch Academic Programs Project of Jiangsu Higher Education Institution (TAPP).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hai-Tao Li.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 888 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Qu, LL., Wang, N., Li, YY. et al. Novel titanium dioxide–graphene–activated carbon ternary nanocomposites with enhanced photocatalytic performance in rhodamine B and tetracycline hydrochloride degradation. J Mater Sci 52, 8311–8320 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1047-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1047-0

Keywords

Navigation