Abstract
The adsorption and photocatalysis of natural organic matter, fulvic acid (FA), by TiO2–graphene (T–G) composites under UV254 was investigated in this study. A one-step solvothermal reaction of graphene oxide (GO) and titanium(IV) butoxide (Ti(OBu)4) in an ethanol solvent was used to prepare T–G composites. During the solvothermal process, both of the reduction of GO and depositing of T nanoparticles were achieved. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were applied to investigate the morphologies and structures of the as-prepared samples. Results from this study indicated that the as-prepared T–G composites exhibited great adsorptivity and photocatalytic activity of FA. Two removal mechanisms have been identified as significant for FA aqueous interacting with T–G composites: surface adsorption and photocatalytic degradation. It is revealed that the photocatalytic degradation of FA is correlated to surface adsorption, an effective surface adsorption resulting in a quick degradation.
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