Facile preparation of RGO-TiO2-functionalized PET fabrics for the visible light-driven degradation of organic pollutions in water

In order to protect the environment, it is very important to develop facile and repeatable methods to degrade organic pollutants in water. The reduced graphene oxide and (RGO) and titanium dioxide (TiO2)-functionalized polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabrics (RGO-TiO2-PET) were facilely prepared using a one-step hydrothermal method. The RGO-TiO2-PET exhibited remarkable photodegradation efficiency and excellent recyclability. From the results, RGO enhanced the catalytic degradation of rhodamine B by RGO-TiO2-PET under visible light irradiation. The degradation of RhB catalyzed by TiO2-PET was 63.57% after 180 min of degradation under visible light irradiation, while it increased to 93.28% catalyzed by 5% RGO-TiO2-PET. Moreover, RGO-TiO2-functionalized PET fabric exhibited wonderful reusability, since its photocatalytic activity did not significantly decrease after five photocatalysis cycles. The significant enhancement of photocatalytic activity can be ascribed to the enhanced absorption of dyes and light, and charge transfer from the conduction band of TiO2 to the empty electronic states of RGO.