title: Real-time spectroscopic monitoring of photocatalytic activity promoted by graphene in a microfluidic reactor.
abstract: Photocatalytic microreactors have been utilized as rapid, versatile platforms for the characterization of photocatalysts. In this work, a photocatalytic microreactor integrated with absorption spectroscopy was proposed for the real-time monitoring of photocatalytic activity using different catalysts. The validity of this method was investigated by the rapid screening on the photocatalytic performance of a titanium oxide (TiO2)-decorated graphene oxide (GO) sheet for the degradation of methylene blue under monochromatic visible irradiation. The sampling interval time could be minimized to 10 s for achieving real-time detection. The best photocatalytic activity was observed for an optimized TiO2/GO weight mixing ratio of 7:11, with a reaction rate constant up to 0.067 min(-1). The addition of GO into TiO2 enhances photocatalytic activity and adsorption of MB molecules. The synthetic reaction rate constant was up to approximately 0.11 min(-1), which was also the highest among the catalysts. The microreactor exhibited good sensitivity and reproducibility without weakening the performance of the photocatalysts. Consequently, the photocatalytic microreactor is promising as a simple, portable, and rapid screening tool for new photocatalysts.
authors.affiliation: Pen-Tung Sah Research Institute of Micro-Nano Science &Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Yifan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Pen-Tung Sah Research Institute of Micro-Nano Science &Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Beichen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Pen-Tung Sah Research Institute of Micro-Nano Science &Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Likai
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Pen-Tung Sah Research Institute of Micro-Nano Science &Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Hongchen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Pen-Tung Sah Research Institute of Micro-Nano Science &Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Xinyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Pen-Tung Sah Research Institute of Micro-Nano Science &Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lu