Self-assembly TiO2-RGO/LDHs nanocomposite: Photocatalysis of VOCs degradation in simulation air

Composite TiO 2 -RGO/LDHs with significant photocatalytic performance has been prepared step by step. Gaseous VOCs has been degraded because of the sufficient water molecules/hydroxide ions and improved separating capacity of electron hole pairs. • Composite TiO 2 -RGO/LDHs with improved photocatalytic performance has been prepared by step-by-step synthesis method. • Influences of addition amount of all components were studied by several experiments, and optimal photocatalyst TiO 2 -2 wt%RGO/LDHs were identified. • The systematic study of three typical VOCs demonstrated the effect of influence factors and the difference among gaseous VOCs. • The TiO 2 -RGO/LDHs nanocomposite has great photocatalytic ability under high NOx pollution environment. In this work, the TiO 2 -RGO/LDHs photocatalyst was synthesized by a hydrothermal method using GO/LDHs as substrates. The structure and property of prepared materials were characterized via XRD, SEM, EDS, XPS, TEM, UV–vis spectroscopy, etc. Toluene, methanol, and ethyl acetate were selected as typical volatile organic pollutants model pollutants to examine the photocatalytic degradation effect of TiO 2 -RGO/LDHs. The photocatalytic efficiency of the TiO 2 -RGO/LDHs system was further investigated in contaminated air (NOx = 20 ppm). The results indicated that the prepared TiO 2 -RGO/LDHs nanocomposite possess better photodegradation activity than pure TiO 2 and TiO 2 -RGO samples, and the photocatalyst has excellent application for the elimination of three kinds of VOCs. The photochemical and materials characterization revealed that the graphene has enlarged the light response range and inhibited the recombination of electron-hole pairs of TiO 2 . Meanwhile, LDHs can offer more hydroxide ions to accelerate the oxidation reaction, resulting in more radicals and better pollutants degradation.