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AgBr@TiO2/GO ternary composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity for oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde

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Abstract

AgBr@TiO2/GO (graphene oxide) ternary composite photocatalyst was synthesized by fabricating core–shell-structured AgBr@TiO2 and anchoring it onto the surface of GO. The obtained samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) diffuse reflectance spectrum, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. It was found that the AgBr nanoparticles were prone to aggregation while the core–shell-structured AgBr@TiO2 possessed excellent dispersity. PL analysis revealed that the ternary-structured AgBr@TiO2/GO could effectively promote the separation rate of electron–hole pairs. Photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde under visible-light irradiation was selected as probe reaction to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the different samples. It was found that the AgBr@TiO2/GO ternary composite exhibited evidently improved photocatalytic activity compared with AgBr, AgBr@TiO2, and AgBr/GO. On the basis of the experiment results, the photocatalytic oxidation mechanism of benzyl alcohol over AgBr@TiO2/GO is tentatively discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21277046, 21573069, 21377038) and the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2013CB632403).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Lab for Advanced Materials and Institute of Fine Chemicals, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Mei Long Road, Shanghai, 200237, People’s Republic of China

    Jingyan Si, Ya Liu, Di Wu, Baozhu Tian & Jinlong Zhang

  2. Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Engineering of Nuclear Industry, 168 JinTang Highroad, Tianjin, 300180, People’s Republic of China

    Shunzhou Chang

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  1. Jingyan Si
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  2. Ya Liu
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Correspondence to Baozhu Tian or Jinlong Zhang.

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Si, J., Liu, Y., Chang, S. et al. AgBr@TiO2/GO ternary composites with enhanced photocatalytic activity for oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde. Res Chem Intermed 43, 2067–2080 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11164-016-2747-9

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