TiO2/carbon nanotube hybrid nanostructures: Solvothermal synthesis and their visible light photocatalytic activity

MWCNT/TiO2 hybrid nanostructures were prepared via solvothermal synthesis and sol-gel method with benzyl alcohol as a surfactant. As-prepared hybrid materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that MWCNTs were uniformly decorated with anatase nanocrystals in solvothermal condition, but MWCNTs were embedded in a majority of TiO2 nanoparticles by sol-gel method. When the weight ratio of MWCNTs to TiO2 was 20%, MWCNT/TiO2 hybrid nanostructures prepared by solvothermal synthesis exhibited higher visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity than that prepared by sol-gel method. Post-annealing of MWCNT/TiO2 nanostructures at 400 degrees C resulted in the formation of the carbonaceous Ti-C bonds on the interface between TiO2 anti MWCNTs, which enhanced the photoabsorbance of the hybrid materials in the visible light region and improved the visible-light degradation efficiency of methylene blue. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.