Carbon modified Ti(I/S) composites and their photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B

Abstract

Rhodamine B (RhB) is a carcinogenic cationic dye with strong stability and fluidity in water. For this purpose, carbon (C) modified TiO₂ pillared illite/smectite (Ti(I/S)) composites (C-Ti(I/S)) were successfully synthesized to degrade RhB under visible light irradiation. Due to the existence of carbon nanomaterials, C-Ti(I/S) composites have a larger specific surface area and stronger electron hole separation ability than Ti(I/S) composites. The results showed that C-Ti(I/S) composites exhibited good photocatalytic activity for RhB degradation. After 120 min, about 80% of RhB was degraded by the C-Ti(I/S)-3 composite, which was much higher than that of C (40%) or Ti(I/S) (60%). In addition, the C-Ti(I/S)-3 composite also had good photocatalytic stability. In this photocatalytic system involving the C-Ti(I/S)-3 composite, the oxidation of RhB mainly involved h⁺ and ˙O₂⁻.