Abstract:
TiO
2/graphene nanocomposites were synthesized from graphene oxide (GO), C
12H
28N
2 and TiO
2 sol by three-step method as follows: Dodecanediamine pre-intercalating, ion exchange, and interlayer in-situ formation of TiO
2 by calcined. The properties and structures of TiO
2/graphene nanocomposites with sandwich structure were characterized by XRD, Raman, FTIR, TEM, TG, UV-Vis and PL. The photocatalytic degradation performance of TiO
2/graphene composites prepared with different amounts of TiO
2 were investigated. The crystallization of TiO
2 and the reduction of GO were significantly increased simultaneously during calcination. According to XRD and FTIR results, TiO
2 nanoparticles have formed in situ between the interlayer of graphene and anchored on graphene with chemically-bonded. Therefore, it can be concluded that the TiO
2/graphene nanocomposites with sandwich structure are prepared successfully. TiO
2/graphene composites show the best photocatalytic degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) when the mass fraction of TiO
2 is 65.5wt%, and the degradation rate reaches 90% after 150 min under visible light irradiation, which is higher than pure TiO
2 nanoparticles (28%, 150 min). It can be mainly attributed to the special sandwich structure with enhanced photoinduced electron-hole separation. The photocatalyst stability test shows that TiO
2/graphene nanocomposites possess high photostability and structure stability for potential practical applications in environmental purification.