Preparation and properties of visible light responsive RGO/In_2TiO_5 nanobelts for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

摘要

Electrospinning and solvothermal methods were used to synthesize RGO/In2TiO5 nanobelts. The prepared samples were characterized with XRD, SEM, UV-vis DRS, N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. The results have shown that the samples presented an orthorhombic structure without any secondary phase, and the morphology was not noticeably changed after coupling RGO. The RGO (1 wt%)/In2TiO5 nanobelts showed the highest photocatalytic activity. After 120 min of simulated sunlight irradiation, the degradation rate of RhB was up to 97.5%. Meanwhile, RGO/In2TiO5 nanobelts showed excellent photocatalytic degradation property for fluoroquinolone antibiotic levofloxacin (LEV). The increased electrons and holes separation, enhanced active sites and improved light acquisition were the reasons for the outstanding photocatalytic performances of the photocatalyst. Moreover, terephthalic acid photoluminescence (TA-PL) experiments confirmed that the hydroxyl radicals (center dot OH) were generated during the photocatalysis processes. The enhanced photocatalytic activity allows RGO/In2TiO5 nanobelts to be a promising candidate to treat antibiotic medical wastewater field in the future.