Hydrothermal Synthesis of rGO-TiO2 Composites as High-Performance UV Photocatalysts for Ethylparaben Degradation
Metadata
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MDPI
Materia
rGO-TiO2 nanocomposites Ethylparaben Ultraviolete radiation Photocatalysis
Date
2020-05Referencia bibliográfica
Ruidíaz-Martínez, M., Álvarez, M. A., López-Ramón, M. V., Cruz-Quesada, G., Rivera-Utrilla, J., & Sánchez-Polo, M. (2020). Hydrothermal Synthesis of rGO-TiO2 Composites as High-Performance UV Photocatalysts for Ethylparaben Degradation. Catalysts, 10(5), 520. [DOI: 10.3390/catal10050520]
Sponsorship
Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness CTQ2016-80978-C2 1-R; European Union (EU) CTQ2016-80978-C2 1-R; Asociacion Universitaria Iberoamericana de Postgrado (AUIP); University of JaenAbstract
A series of reduced graphene oxide-TiO2 composites (rGO-TiO2) were prepared by hydrothermal
treatment using graphite and titanium isopropoxide as raw materials. The structural, surface,
electronic, and optical properties of the prepared composites were extensively characterized by
N2 adsorption, FTIR, XRD, XPS, Raman spectroscopy, and DRS. GO was found to be effectively
reduced and TiO2 to be in pure anatase phase in all composites obtained. Finally, experiments were
performed to evaluate the effectiveness of these new materials as photocatalysts in the degradation
of ethylparaben (EtP) by UV radiation. According to the band-gap energies obtained (ranging
between 3.09 eV for 4% rGO-TiO2 to 2.55 eV for 30% rGO-TiO2), the rGO-TiO2 composites behave
as semiconductor materials. The photocatalytic activity is highest with a rGO content of 7 wt %
(7% rGO-TiO2), being higher than observed for pure TiO2 (Eg = 3.20 eV) and achieving 98.6% EtP
degradation after only 40 min of treatment. However, the degradation yield decreases with higher
percentages of rGO. Comparison with rGO-P25 composites showed that a better photocatalytic
performance in EtP degradation is obtained with synthesized TiO2 (rGO-TiO2), probably due to the
presence of the rutile phase (14.1 wt %) in commercial P25.