Frontiers in Chemistry (Mar 2023)

Novel TiO2/GO/M-MMT nano-heterostructured composites exhibiting high photocatalytic activity

  • W. Li,
  • Y. He,
  • W. B. Bao,
  • H. L. Bao,
  • D. Y. Li,
  • C. L. Zhang,
  • M. Wang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2023.1113186
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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This study proposed a technique to enhance the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 using graphene oxide (GO) and modified Montmorillonite (M-MMT). TiO2/GO/M-MMT nano-heterostructured composites were prepared via hydrothermal and co-precipitation. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by investigating the photodegradation rate and absorption behavior of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. The results showed that TiO2/GO/M-MMT heterojunction exhibited excellent photocatalytic degradation performance, as the degradation rate of MO was observed to be 99.3% within 150 min. The density of adsorbed MO decreased by 62.1% after 210 min of dark adsorption using the TiO2/GO/M-MMT composite, which was significantly higher than that achieved using M-MMT, GO/M-MMT, and TiO2/M-MMT. The nano-heterostructure increased the effective interface between TiO2, GO, and MMT, which increased the charge transfer ability and prolonged the electron-hole separation time. Therefore, the results of this study can be used to design novel photocatalysts to eradicate environmental pollutants.

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