Preparation of TiO_2-coated exfoliated graphite photocatalyst and its adsorption and photodegradation of methyl orange solutions

TiO2-coated exfoliated graphite photocatalyst was successfully prepared with trtrabutyltitanate as precursor and exfoliated graphite(EG) as carrier via sol-gel method.The resulting samples were characterized by XRD,SEM and BET surface area.The performances of photodegradation of the samples were examined with methyl orange(MO) as a contaminant,the activities of photocatalysis of the samples were investigated with different heat-treatment temperatures,different coating times,and various of initial MO concentrations.The experimental results showed that TiO2 deposited on the flakes of EG in the forms of nanocrystalline.The worm-like exfoliated graphite provided a three dimensional environment for photocatalytic reaction.The photocatalyst coated two times,calcinated at 500℃ for 3h showed high photocatalytic reactivity under UV light irradiation in photodegradation of highly concentrated MO solutions.