Photocatalytic Property of TiO2-Vermiculite Composite Nanofibers via Electrospinning

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is one of the most common photocatalysts. In this study, TiO2-vermiculite composite nanofibers with a mesh structure and a diameter of approximately 300 nm were prepared via sol–gel approach combined with electrospinning technique. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, etc. The photocatalytic property was also evaluated. The TiO2-vermiculite composite nanofibers annealed at 550 °C for 3 h exhibited the best absorption and photo-degradation ability for the treatment of methylene blue. The results implied that the combination of mineral vermiculite powders with TiO2 enhanced the absorption-degradation performance of the as-prepared photocatalytic materials, consequently promoting the materials’ ability to degrade methylene blue.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s11671-015-0977-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Development and Characterization of Composite Carbon Adsorbents with Photocatalytic Regeneration Ability: Application to Diclofenac Removal from Water

“…A photocatalytic process employing a semiconductor catalyst has proven its intrinsic potential of being an environmentally friendly process for the treatment of contaminants in water [22], and P25 is the most widely used photocatalyst [23]. However, P25 has a rather high band gap of 3.2 eV, leading to a requirement of using UV-light as the energy source for activation of the photocatalytic reactions [24]. To be able to regenerate the carbon composites under visible light, doping the material further becomes necessary.…”