Photothermal effect enhanced photocatalysis realized by photonic crystal and microreactor

Abstract To utilize the full solar spectrum, photonic crystal (PC) films were constructed along with CdS and Graphene Oxide (GO) nanosheets to realize photothermal synergetic catalysis. The photonic band gap (PBG) effect of PC films could enhance the absorption of near-infrared light by GO. A microreactor was introduced as the platform for photocatalysis owing to its fast mass transfer and preeminent heat-localization effect. Tetracycline, as an antibiotic widely existed in waste water, was chosen as the degradation goal of photocatalysis tests. Compared with the pure CdS film, the CdS/GO/polystyrene PC film gains a 18.3 °C temperature rise and a 57.8% photocatalytic performance promotion, indicating the effectiveness of photothermal catalysis. Moreover, the CGPC film sealed in the microreactor exhibits a 33.0 °C temperature increase and a 4.5-fold photocatalytic efficiency grow against a same film in the bulk reactor, corroborating the great mass transfer and the preeminent heat-localization effect of the microreactor. Temperature distributions in the microreactor and the bulk reactor were simulated by computational simulations to corroborate aforementioned conclusions. In conclusion, photonic crystal and microreactor enhanced photothermal catalysis provides a feasible method for water treatment.