Hydrothermal synthesis of fluorinated anatase TiO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites and their photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A

The surface fluorinated TiO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites (denoted as F-TiO2-RGO) were synthesized via hydrothermal method. The as-prepared materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectra (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The results showed that pure anatase TiO2 particles were anchored on the surface of reduced graphene oxide. And the HF added during the preparation process can not only prevent phase transformation from anatase to rutile, but also the F- ion adsorbed on the surface of TiO2-RGO surface can enhance photocatalytic activity of F-TiO2-RGO. The photocatalytic activities of F-TiO2-RGO nanocomposites were evaluated by decomposing bisphenol A under UV light illumination. Under optimal degradation condition, the degradation rate constant of BPA over F-TiO2-10RGO (0.01501 mm(-1)) was 3.41 times than that over P25 (0.00440 mm(-1)). The result indicated that the enhanced photocatalytic activity of F-TiO2-10RGO was ascribed to the adsorbed F ion and RGO in F-TiO2-RGO composite, which can reduce the recombination rate of the photo-generated electrons and holes synergistically. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.