title: Efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of nitrophenol by using graphene-encapsulated TiO₂ nanowires.
abstract: In this work, a new hybrid nanocatalyst, namely titanium dioxide (TiO2) composite nanowires, encapsulated with graphene (G) and palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) (designated as G-Pd@TiO2-CNWs), was prepared. In preparing the nanowires, a combination of electrospinning and hydrothermal approaches was employed. The visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance of G-Pd@TiO2-CNWs was investigated using the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) as a model reaction. The results showed that G-Pd@TiO2-CNWs converted nearly 100% of 4-NP under visible light irradiation. The reaction kinetics of the photocatalytic reduction of 4-NP was studied by UV-vis spectrophotometry and the apparent rate constant was determined and compared with those for other supported TiO2 catalysts. Furthermore, the spent G-Pd@TiO2-CNWs could be recovered by simple centrifugation and reused. The work is expected to shed new light on the development of G-incorporated hybrid nanostructures for harvesting light energy and on the development of new photocatalysts for the removal of environmental pollutants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun-Gyu
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: School of Electronics Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea.
authors.forename: Gopalan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sai-Anand
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry Education, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea.
authors.forename: Shanmugasundaram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Komathi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea; Research Institute of Advanced Energy Technology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea.
authors.forename: Anantha-Iyengar
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Gopalan
authors.affiliation: School of Electronics Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea. Electronic address: swkang@knu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Shin-Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry Education, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea; Research Institute of Advanced Energy Technology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea. Electronic address: kplee@knu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Kwang-Pill
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry*; D009596:Nitrophenols / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D010782:Photolysis; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D009596:Nitrophenols; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C009495:titanium dioxide; D006108:Graphite; D014025:Titanium; C024836:4-nitrophenol
keywords: 4-Nitrophenol; Composite titanium dioxide nanowires; Photocatalyst; Photosynergistic effect; UV–vis spectrophotometry