Preparation of Visible Light Photocatalytic Graphene Embedded Rutile Titanium(IV) Oxide Composite Nanowires and Enhanced NOx Removal

The quest for developing highly efficient TiO2-based photocatalysts is continuing and, in particular, evolving a new strategy is an important aspect in this regard. In general, much effort has been devoted to the anatase TiO2 modifications, despite there being only a few recent studies on rutile TiO2 (rTiO(2)). To the best of our knowledge, studies on the preparation and characterization of the photocatalysts based on the intentional inclusion of graphene (G) into rTiO(2) nanostructures have not been reported yet. Herein, we develop a new type of TiO2-based photocatalyst comprising of G included pure rTiO(2) nanowire (abbreviated as rTiO(2)(G) NW) with enhanced visible light absorption capability. To prepare rTiO(2)(G) NW, the G incorporated titanate electrospun fibers were obtained by electrospinning and subsequently heat treated at various temperatures (500 to 800 degrees C). Electrospinning conditions were optimized for producing good quality rTiO(2)(G) NW. The rTiO(2)(G) NW and their corresponding samples were characterized by appropriate techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to ascertain their material characteristics. XRD results show that the lattice strain occurs upon inclusion of G. We present here the first observation of an apparent bandgap lowering because of the G inclusion into TiO2 NW. While anatase TiO2 NW exhibited poor visible light photocatalysis towards NOx removal, the rTiO(2)(G) NW photocatalyst witnessed a significantly enhanced (similar to 67%) photocatalytic performance as compared to anatase TiO2(G) NW. We concluded that the inclusion of G into rTiO(2) nanostructures enhances the visible light photoactivity. A plausible mechanism for photocatalysis is suggested.