Cellulose/TiO2-Based Carbonaceous Composite Film and Aerogel for Highly Efficient Photocatalysis under Visible Light

Cellulose nanofibril-derived carbon (CDC) was integrated with TiO2 (CDC/TiO2) through a mild one-pot hydrothermal method, and then the composite was processed into a film and an aerogel using bacterial cellulose as the substrate to form a CDC/TiO2 film or aerogel. The CDC/TiO2 composite exhibits remarkable performances for Cr(VI) reduction and rhodamine B (RhB) degradation under visible light, which is ascribed to efficient light harvesting and charge transfer derived from the upconversion luminescence property and good conductivity of CDC. More impressively, the CDC/TiO2 film and aerogel still possess high photocatalytic efficiency for Cr(VI) reduction under visible light, where 100 and 84% of Cr(VI) could be reduced over the CDC/TiO2 aerogel and film, respectively. For RhB degradation, the efficiencies over the CDC/TiO2 film and aerogel can even challenge that of the corresponding powdered sample. This work would inspire the development of easy-to-handle and visible-light-driven carbonaceous photocatalysts.