A three-layer photocatalyst carbon fibers/TiO2 seed/TiO2 nanorods with high photocatalytic degradation under visible light

Abstract In this study, a method of combining tightly TiO2 nanorods and CFs is designed to solve that the surface of carbon fibers is too smooth to be bonded with TiO2 nanorods. The TiO2 seed-layer (TS) is precoated on the surface of carbon fibers (CFs), assisting the TiO2 nanorods (TN) tightly in-situ growing on carbon fibers to form the three-layer CFs/TS/TN. Moreover, the CFs/TS/TN displays an excellent photocatalytic performance under visible light irradiation, owing to its narrower bandgap, more efficient separation electrons and holes. Furthermore, the obtained CFs/TS/TN with three-layer structure provides high stability, as the photocatalytic efficiency is still 85.8% after 4 cycles. This work provides a new insight into the design features of photocatalytic device for water treatment.