Mechanism and Purification Effect of Photocatalytic Wastewater Treatment Using Graphene Oxide-Doped Titanium Dioxide Composite Nanomaterials

Abstract

The present work aims to examine the mechanism and purification effect of graphene oxide (GO) and GO composite materials for photocatalysis sewage treatment. TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared using the sol-gel technique; GO was prepared using the modified Hummers technique; and finally, a new N-TiO2/GO photocatalysis composite material was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis. As a nitrogen source, urea uses non-metal doping to broaden the photoresponse range of TiO2. The prepared GO and its composite materials are characterized. Simulation experiments, using the typical water dye pollutant rhodamine B (RhB), tested and analyzed the adsorption and photocatalysis performances of the prepared GO and its composite materials. Characterization analysis demonstrates that TiO2 is distributed on the GO surface in the prepared N-TiO2/GO material. Simultaneously, nitrogen doping causes TiO2 on the GO surface to seem uniformly dispersed. X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) spectrums suggest that TiO2 on the GO surface presents an anatase crystal structure; infrared spectrums display the characteristic vibration peaks of the TiO2 and GO. Adsorption performance analysis illustrates that N-TiO2/GO can provide an adsorption amount of 167.92 mg/g in the same time frame and photocatalysis for visible lights of 57.69%. All data present an excellent linear fitting relationship to the first-order dynamic equation. Therefore, the prepared GO composite materials possess outstanding absorption and photocatalysis performances, providing an experimental basis for sewage treatment and purification using photocatalysis approaches in the future.