Electrospun titania fibers by incorporating graphene/Ag hybrids for the improved visible-light photocatalysis

Abstract

A novel graphene/Ag nanoparticles (NPs) hybrid (prepared by a physical method (PM)) was incorporated into electrospun TiO₂ fibers to improve visible-light-driven photocatalytic properties. The experimental study revealed that the graphene/Ag NPs (PM) hybrid not only decreased the bandgap energy of TiO₂, but also enhanced its light response in the visible region due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect. In addition, compared with those of TiO₂ fibers incorporating the graphene/Ag NPs hybrid (prepared by a chemical method (CM)), TiO₂–graphene/Ag NPs (PM) fibers exhibited a higher surface photocurrent density and superior photocatalytic performance, i.e., the visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity was enhanced by 2 times. The main reasons include a lower surface defect density of the graphene/Ag NPs (PM) hybrid, a smaller particle size (10 nm) and a higher dispersity of Ag NPs, which promote the rapid transfer of photoexcited charge carriers and inhibit the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. It is expected that this kind of ternary electrospun fibers will be a promising candidate for applications in water splitting, solar cells, CO₂ conversion and optoelectronic devices, etc.

Keywords

TiO₂--graphene/Ag / electrospining / photocatalysis

References

[1] Fujishima A, Honda K. Electrochemical photolysis of water at a semiconductor electrode. Nature, 1972, 238(5358): 37–38

[2] Asahi R, Morikawa T, Ohwaki T, . Visible-light photocatalysis in nitrogen-doped titanium oxides. Science, 2001, 293(5528): 269–271

[3] Cozzoli P D, Comparelli R, Fanizza E, . Photocatalytic activity of organic-capped anatase TiO₂ nanocrystals in homogeneous organic solutions. Materials Science and Engineering C, 2003, 23(6‒8): 707–713

[4] Chen X, Shen S, Guo L, . Semiconductor-based photocatalytic hydrogen generation. Chemical Reviews, 2010, 110(11): 6503–6570

[5] Ni M, Leung M K H, Leung D Y C, . A review and recent developments in photocatalytic water-splitting using TiO₂ for hydrogen production. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2007, 11(3): 401–425

[6] O’Regan B, Grätzel M. A low-cost, high-efficiency solar cell based on dye-sensitized colloidal TiO₂ films. Nature, 1991, 353(6346): 737–740

[7] Grätzel M. Photoelectrochemical cells. Nature, 2001, 414(6861): 338–344

[8] Khan S U, Al-Shahry M, Ingler W BJr. Efficient photochemical water splitting by a chemically modified n-TiO₂. Science, 2002, 297(5590): 2243–2245

[9] Lin Z H, Xie Y, Yang Y, . Enhanced triboelectric nanogenerators and triboelectric nanosensor using chemically modified TiO₂ nanomaterials. ACS Nano, 2013, 7(5): 4554–4560

[10] Chen X, Mao S S. Titanium dioxide nanomaterials: synthesis, properties, modifications, and applications. Chemical Reviews, 2007, 107(7): 2891–2959

[11] Ren L, Liu Y D, Qi X, . An architectured TiO₂ nanosheet with discrete integrated nanocrystalline subunits and its application in lithium batteries. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2012, 22(40): 21513–21518

[12] Ren L, Qi X, Liu Y D, . Upconversion-P25-graphene composite as an advanced sunlight driven photocatalytic hybrid material. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2012, 22(23): 11765–11771

[13] Tian J, Zhao Z, Kumar A, . Recent progress in design, synthesis, and applications of one-dimensional TiO₂ nanostructured surface heterostructures: a review. Chemical Society Reviews, 2014, 43(20): 6920–6937

[14] Ge M, Li Q, Cao C, . One-dimensional TiO₂ nanotube photocatalysts for solar water splitting. Advanced Science, 2017, 4(1): 1600152

[15] Kumar P S, Sundaramurthy J, Sundarrajan S, . Hierarchical electrospun nanofibers for energy harvesting, production and environmental remediation. Energy & Environmental Science, 2014, 7(10): 3192–3222

[16] Zhang J, Cai Y B, Hou X B, . Preparation of TiO₂ nanofibrous membranes with hierarchical porosity for efficient photocatalytic degradation. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2018, 122(16): 8946–8953

[17] Ren L, Li Y Z, Hou J G, . The pivotal effect of the interaction between reactant and anatase TiO₂ nanosheets with exposed {001} facets on photocatalysis for the photocatalytic purification of VOCs. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2016, 181: 625–634

[18] Wang M, Ioccozia J, Sun L, . Inorganic-modified semiconductor TiO₂ nanotube arrays for photocatalysis. Energy & Environmental Science, 2014, 7(7): 2182–2202

[19] He Z, Que W, Chen J, . Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange over nitrogen-fluorine codoped TiO₂ nanobelts prepared by solvothermal synthesis. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2012, 4(12): 6816–6826

[20] Lan L, Li Y Z, Zeng M, . Efficient UV–vis-infrared light-driven catalytic abatement of benzene on amorphous manganese oxide supported on anatase TiO₂ nanosheet with dominant {001} facets promoted by a photothermocatalytic synergetic effect. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2017, 203: 494–504

[21] Zeng M, Li Y Z, Mao M M, . Synergetic effect between photocatalysis on TiO₂ and thermocatalysis on CeO₂ for gas-phase oxidation of benzene on TiO₂/CeO₂ nanocomposites. ACS Catalysis, 2015, 5(6): 3278–3286

[22] Liu H H, Li Y Z, Yang Y, . Highly efficient UV-vis-infrared catalytic purification of benzene on CeMn_xO_y/TiO₂ nanocomposite, caused by its high thermocatalytic activity and strong absorption in the full solar spectrum region. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2016, 4(25): 9890–9899

[23] Ma Y, Li Y Z, Mao M Y, . Synergetic effect between photocatalysis on TiO₂ and solar light-driven thermocatalysis on MnO_x for benzene purification on MnO_x/TiO₂ nanocomposites. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2015, 3(10): 5509–5516

[24] Ren X H, Qi X, Shen Y Z, . 2D co-catalytic MoS₂ nanosheets embedded with 1D TiO₂ nanoparticles for enhancing photocatalytic activity. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2016, 49(31): 315304–315312

[25] Mohamed A E R, Rohani S. Modified TiO₂ nanotube arrays (TNTAs): progressive strategies towards visible light responsive photoanode: a review. Energy & Environmental Science, 2011, 4(4): 1065–1086

[26] Zhang J, Xiao F X, Xiao G, . Linker-assisted assembly of 1D TiO₂ nanobelts/3D CdS nanospheres hybrid heterostructure as efficient visible light photocatalyst. Applied Catalysis A, 2016, 521: 50–56

[27] Wang C, Astruc D. Nanogold plasmonic photocatalysis for organic synthesis and clean energy conversion. Chemical Society Reviews, 2014, 43(20): 7188–7216

[28] Zhang X Y, Li H P, Cui X L, . Graphene/TiO₂ nanocomposites: synthesis, characterization and application in hydrogen evolution from water photocatalytic splitting. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 2010, 20(14): 2801–2806

[29] Kong M, Li Y, Chen X, . Tuning the relative concentration ratio of bulk defects to surface defects in TiO₂ nanocrystals leads to high photocatalytic efficiency. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2011, 133(41): 16414–16417

[30] Wen Y, Ding H, Shan Y. Preparation and visible light photocatalytic activity of Ag/TiO₂/graphene nanocomposite. Nanoscale, 2011, 3(10): 4411–4417

[31] Zhang Y, Pan C. TiO₂/graphene composite from thermal reaction of graphene oxide and its photocatalytic activity in visible light. Journal of Materials Science, 2011, 46(8): 2622–2626

[32] Li X, Zhu J, Wei B. Hybrid nanostructures of metal/two-dimensional nanomaterials for plasmon-enhanced applications. Chemical Society Reviews, 2016, 45(11): 3145–3187

[33] Tang X Z, Cao Z, Zhang H B, . Growth of silver nanocrystals on graphene by simultaneous reduction of graphene oxide and silver ions with a rapid and efficient one-step approach. Chemical Communications, 2011, 47(11): 3084–3086

[34] Zhou Y, Yang J, He T, . Highly stable and dispersive silver nanoparticle‒graphene composites by a simple and low-energy-consuming approach and their antimicrobial activity. Small, 2013, 9(20): 3445–3454

[35] Liu C, Wang K, Luo S, . Direct electrodeposition of graphene enabling the one-step synthesis of graphene‒metal nanocomposite films. Small, 2011, 7(9): 1203–1206

[36] Pavithra C L P, Sarada B V, Rajulapati K V, . A new electrochemical approach for the synthesis of copper‒graphene nanocomposite foils with high hardness. Scientific Reports, 2014, 4(6): 4049–4055

[37] Yang J, Zang C, Sun L, . Synthesis of graphene/Ag nanocomposite with good dispersibility and electroconductibility via solvothermal method. Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2011, 129(1‒2): 270–274

[38] Guardia L, Villar-Rodil S, Paredes J I, . UV light exposure of aqueous graphene oxide suspensions to promote their direct reduction, formation of graphene–metal nanoparticle hybrids and dye degradation. Carbon, 2012, 50(3): 1014–1024

[39] Sygletou M, Tzourmpakis P, Petridis C, . Laser induced nucleation of plasmonic nanoparticles on two-dimensional nanosheets for organic photovoltaics. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2016, 4(3): 1020–1027

[40] Liu S, Tian J, Wang L, . Microwave-assisted rapid synthesis of Ag nanoparticles/graphene nanosheet composites and their application for hydrogen peroxide detection. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 2011, 13(10): 4539–4548

[41] Zhang Q, Ye S, Chen X, . Photocatalytic degradation of ethylene using titanium dioxide nanotube arrays with Ag and reduced graphene oxide irradiated by γ-ray radiolysis. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2017, 203: 673–683

[42] Liu C H, Mao B H, Gao J, . Size-controllable self-assembly of metal nanoparticles on carbon nanostructures in room-temperature ionic liquids by simple sputtering deposition. Carbon, 2012, 50(8): 3008–3014

[43] Hummers W S, Offeman R E. Preparation of graphitic oxide. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1958, 80(6): 1339

[44] Wang C Y, Liu C Y, Liu Y, . Surface-enhanced Raman scattering effect for Ag/TiO₂ composite particles. Applied Surface Science, 1999, 147(1‒4): 52–57

[45] Gao L, Ren W, Li F, . Total color difference for rapid and accurate identification of graphene. ACS Nano, 2008, 2(8): 1625–1633

[46] Cançado L G, Jorio A, Ferreira E H, . Quantifying defects in graphene via Raman spectroscopy at different excitation energies. Nano Letters, 2011, 11(8): 3190–3196

[47] Zhang L, Zhang Q, Xie H, . Electrospun titania nanofibers segregated by graphene oxide for improved visible light photocatalysis. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2017, 201: 470–478

[48] Zhang W F, He Y L, Zhang M S, . Raman scattering study on anatase TiO₂ nanocrystals. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2000, 33(8): 912–916

[49] Zhang Y, Li D, Tan X, . High quality graphene sheets from graphene oxide by hot-pressing. Carbon, 2013, 54(2): 143–148

[50] Lang Q, Chen Y, Huang T, . Graphene “bridge” in transferring hot electrons from plasmonic Ag nanocubes to TiO₂ nanosheets for enhanced visible light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2018, 220: 182–190

[51] Zhang J, Xiao F X, Xiao G, . Self-assembly of a Ag nanoparticle-modified and graphene-wrapped TiO₂ nanobelt ternary heterostructure: surface charge tuning toward efficient photocatalysis. Nanoscale, 2014, 6(19): 11293–11302

[52] Wu J, Luo C, Li D, . Preparation of Au nanoparticle-decorated ZnO/NiO heterostructure via nonsolvent method for high-performance photocatalysis. Journal of Materials Science, 2017, 52(3): 1285–1295

[53] Sher Shah M S, Zhang K, Park A R, . Single-step solvothermal synthesis of mesoporous Ag‒TiO₂‒reduced graphene oxide ternary composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity. Nanoscale, 2013, 5(11): 5093–5101

[54] Shi J, Chen J, Feng Z, . Photoluminescence characteristics of TiO₂ and their relationship to the photoassisted reaction of water/methanol mixture. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2007, 111(2): 693–699

[55] Luo C, Li D, Wu W, . Preparation of 3D reticulated ZnO/CNF/NiO heteroarchitecture for high-performance photocatalysis. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2015, 166‒167: 217–223

[56] Huang H J, Zhen S Y, Li P Y, . Confined migration of induced hot electrons in Ag/graphene/TiO₂ composite nanorods for plasmonic photocatalytic reaction. Optics Express, 2016, 24(14): 15603–15608

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee 2017 basic research (free exploration) project of Shenzhen City of China (No. JCYJ20170303170542173), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11174227), and the Chinese Universities Scientific Fund.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2018 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature