Facile synthesis of the Ti3+-TiO2-rGO compound with controllable visible light photocatalytic performance: GO regulating lattice defects

摘要

Visible light photocatalytic Ti3+-TiO2-rGO compound with controllable photocatalytic performance was prepared by a one-step microemulsion method, via altering the amount of lattice defects in TiO2. A facile method for regulating Ti3+ doping concentration and the lattice defects was obtained based on the aggregation effect of the positively charged Ti species on GO surface in the micelles. Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to confirm the existence of Ti3+ and rGO in the self-doped samples and electron spin resonance (ESR) was adapted to semi-quantitatively analyze the relationship between lattice defects and the amount of GO added. It was found that the ESR signal rose progressively in intensity with the increase in the amount of GO addition, indicating that GO could regulate the lattice defects existed in the compound. A possible regulating and enhancing mechanism of visible light photocatalytic activity for self-doped Ti3+-TiO2-rGO was also proposed.