Integration of carbon dots and polyaniline with TiO2 nanoparticles: Substantially enhanced photocatalytic activity to removal various pollutants under visible light

Solmaz Feizpoor, Aziz Habibi-Yangjeh, Kunio Yubuta

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

73 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this study, ternary photocatalysts were fabricated through integration of carbon dots (CDs) and polyaniline (PANI) with TiO2 nanoparticles by a facile route. The photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, HRTEM, EDX, BET, XPS, FT-IR, UV–vis DRS, and PL instruments. Among the photocatalysts, the TiO2/CDs/PANI (20%) nanocomposite exhibited much higher photocatalytic performance for removal of RhB, MO, MB, and fuchsine in comparison with the TiO2, TiO2/CDs, and TiO2/PANI (20%) photocatalysts under visible light. The degradation rate constant of RhB by TiO2/CDs/PANI (20%) nanocomposite was 481 × 10−4 min−1, which is almost 36.5 and 2.6 times more than those of the TiO2 and TiO2/CDs photocatalysts, respectively. It was confirmed that [rad]O2 played predominant role in RhB degradation. Finally, the mechanism for enhanced photocatalytic activity was also discussed. The improved visible-light photocatalytic performance was related to substantial absorption of visible light, diminished recombination of the charge carriers, and enhanced specific surface area.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)94-104
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry
Volume367
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 1 2018
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Chemistry(all)
  • Chemical Engineering(all)
  • Physics and Astronomy(all)

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