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Design of graphene-based TiO2 photocatalysts—a review

  • Photocatalysis: fundamentals and applications in JEP 2011, Bordeaux
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Abstract

There is a recent increase in the interest of designing high-performance photocatalysts using graphene-based materials. This review gathers some important aspects of graphene–TiO2, graphene oxide–TiO2, and reduced graphene oxide–TiO2 composites, which are of especial relevance as next generation photocatalysts. The methods used for the preparation of these materials, the associated mechanistic fundamentals, and the application of graphene-based composites on the photocatalytic degradation of pollutants are reviewed. Some structural, textural, and chemical properties of these materials and other photo-assisted applications, such as hydrogen production from water splitting and dye-sensitized solar cells, are also briefly included.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for this work was provided by the European Commission (Clean Water—grant agreement no 227017) and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and FEDER under Program COMPETE, project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022706 (Ref. FCT Pest-C/EQB/LA0020/2011) and FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-008442 (Ref. NANO/NTec-CA/0046/2007). Clean Water is a Collaborative Project co-funded by the Research DG of the European Commission within the joint RTD activities of the Environment and NMP Thematic Priorities. SMT and AMTS acknowledge financial support from SFRH/BPD/74239/2010 and POCI/N010/2006, respectively.

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  1. LCM – Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials Associate Laboratory LSRE/LCM Departamento de Engenharia Química, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal

    Sergio Morales-Torres, Luisa M. Pastrana-Martínez, José L. Figueiredo, Joaquim L. Faria & Adrián M. T. Silva

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  1. Sergio Morales-Torres
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  2. Luisa M. Pastrana-Martínez
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  3. José L. Figueiredo
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  4. Joaquim L. Faria
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  5. Adrián M. T. Silva
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Correspondence to Joaquim L. Faria.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Morales-Torres, S., Pastrana-Martínez, L.M., Figueiredo, J.L. et al. Design of graphene-based TiO2 photocatalysts—a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19, 3676–3687 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0939-4

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