One-pot synthesis of 3D TiO2-reduced graphene oxide aerogels with superior adsorption capacity and enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance

Abstract As an alternative expanded spectrum-driven photocatalyst, TiO2/graphene nanocomposites have been well investigated in recent years. Nowadays, reports indicated that the three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (3DrGO) aerogels (GAs) with abundant porous structures can adsorb the organic pollutants such as dye molecules and supply multi-dimensional electron transport pathways, suggesting a significant application potential in photocatalysis. Herein, 3DrGO aerogels supported with titanium dioxide (TiO2) were prepared by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method using ascorbic acid as a reducing agent and cross-linker. Benefited from the enhanced adsorption ability towards dye molecules owing to the high specific surface area, and the enhanced photogenerated charge separation resulting in the strong interaction between TiO2 and GAs, the fabricated TiO2/GAs (TGAs) products exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity in an aqueous system. Furthermore, the TGAs products also presented high stability and can be simply separated from the reaction solution for recycling, which is ultra-important for further application in photocatalysis.