Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of CdS-Decorated TiO₂/Carbon Core-Shell Microspheres Derived from Microcrystalline Cellulose

Xin Liu; Yinliang Li; Jun Yang; Bo Wang; Mingguo Ma; Feng Xu; Runcang Sun; Xueming Zhang

doi:10.3390/ma9040245

Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of CdS-Decorated TiO₂/Carbon Core-Shell Microspheres Derived from Microcrystalline Cellulose

Materials (Basel). 2016 Mar 29;9(4):245. doi: 10.3390/ma9040245.

Authors

Xin Liu¹, Yinliang Li², Jun Yang³, Bo Wang⁴, Mingguo Ma⁵, Feng Xu⁶, Runcang Sun^{7

8}, Xueming Zhang⁹

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China. xin_liu@bjfu.edu.cn.
² Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China. lylhappy@bjfu.edu.cn.
³ Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China. yangjun11@bjfu.edu.cn.
⁴ Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China. mzlwb@bjfu.edu.cn.
⁵ Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China. mg_ma@bjfu.edu.cn.
⁶ Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China. xfx315@bjfu.edu.cn.
⁷ Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China. rcsun3@bjfu.edu.cn.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China. rcsun3@bjfu.edu.cn.
⁹ Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China. xm_zhang@bjfu.edu.cn.

Abstract

The fabrication of reusable and biodegradation materials from renewable resources such as cellulose is essential for a sustainable world. The core-shell structured CdS-decorated TiO₂/Carbon microspheres (CdS/TiO₂/Carbon MS) photocatalyst was synthesized with controlled hydrolysis and a novel sonochemical method. It was prepared by using crosslinked microcrystalline cellulose as the core, tetrabutyl titanate as the titania source and CdS as the photosensitizer. The morphology, chemical structure and properties of the obtained material were characterized by many means. Additionally, the photocatalytic activity of the CdS/TiO₂/Carbon MS was evaluated by the photodegradation efficiency of Rhodamine B solution, which reached 95.24% under visible light irradiation. This study demonstrated the excellent photocatalytic performance of CdS/TiO₂/Carbon MS, which might have promising applications in environmental treatments.

Keywords: cellulose; environmental degradation; functional composites; photocatalysis; titanium dioxide.