Preparation and Characterization of Mesoporous Sulfated TiO2-Graphene Oxide Composites

Mesoporous sulfated TiO2-graphene oxide composites were prepared by hydrothermal method. The samples were analyzed by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR spectroscopy (IR) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. photocatalytic activities of sulfated titania-GO samples were evaluated using the photooxidation of methylene blue in aqueous solutions by ultraviolet-visible (UV-via) spectroscopy. The results indicated that oxygen-containing carbonaceous groups in the GO are incorporated into the network of C\O\Ti and coordinated to titania in bidentate model, Sulfur species in the form of sulfate are incorporated into the network of Ti\O\Ti, resulting in the strong inductive effect, large specific surface area, and mesoporous structure. All these are beneficial to improve the photocatalytic activities of the mesoporous sulfated TiO2-graphene oxide composites. The formation mechanism of sulfated mesoporous titania-graphene oxide composites was explored. Joint electronic system of reduced graphene oxide, SO42− and TiO2 was also predicted.