Visible light photo-catalytic activity of C-PVA/TiO2 composites for degrading rhodamine B

In this article, a novel visible light (VL) active photo-catalyst, calcinated-poly (vinyl alcohol) (C-PVA)/TiO2 composites, was prepared by calcinating the films on glass substrates obtained from TiO2 sol and initially thermally treated PVA solution. The results showed that the C-PVA with conjugated C=C bonds was doped onto the surface of TiO2 and expanded the photo-response from ultraviolet spectrum of the TiO2 to VL spectrum of the composites; meanwhile, the photo-luminescence of C-PVA was quenched by TiO2, indicating charge transfer between C-PVA and TiO2. The C-PVA/TiO2 composites showed improved adsorption and photo-catalytic performances toward rhodamine B (RhB) compared to TiO2. When the mass feed ratio (P/T) of polymer (P) to TiO2 (T) increased from 1:10 to 1:2, the equilibrium adsorption ratio of C-PVA/TiO2 composites toward RhB continuously increased from 8.2 to 21.6%; while the VL photo-degradation ratio of RhB increased at first, achieving maximum value (92.2%) at P/T = 1:6, and then decreased consecutively. SEM images showed that there were lots of aggregates of TiO2 and C-PVA on the surface of the composites. Moreover, the morphologies of those aggregates were related to the value of PIT, and the dispersion of TiO2 in the C-PVA matrix was best while P/T = 1:6. The photo-catalytic activity of C-PVA/TiO2 composites was closely correlated to aggregate states of C-PVA and TiO2, while the adsorption performance was contributed to the exposed C-PVA on the surface of C-PVA/TiO2 composites. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.