A Facile Low‐Temperature Hydrothermal Method to Prepare Anatase Titania/Cellulose Aerogels with Strong Photocatalytic Activities for Rhodamine B and Methyl Orange Degradations

Abstract

A facile low-temperature hydrothermal method for in situ preparation of anatase titania (TiO2) homogeneously dispersed in cellulose aerogels substrates was described. The formed anatase TiO2aggregations composed of a mass of evenly dispersed TiO2nanoparticles with sizes of 2−5 nm were embedded in the interconnected three-dimensional (3D) architecture of the cellulose aerogels matrixes without large-scale reunion phenomenon; meanwhile, the obtained anatase titania/cellulose (ATC) aerogels also had a high loading amount of TiO2(ca. 35.7%). Furthermore, compared with commercially available Degussa P25, ATC aerogels displayed comparable photocatalytic activities for Rhodamine B and methyl orange degradations under UV radiation, which might be useful in the fields of catalysts, wastewater treatment, and organic pollutant degradation. Meanwhile, the photocatalytic reaction behaviors of ATC aerogels under UV irradiation were also illuminated.

Cellulose aerogels decorated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes: preparation, characterization, and application for electromagnetic interference shielding

“…Therefore, cellulose aerogels are extensively regarded as appropriate templates for the creation of composites with functional properties [3] . Our previous reports have justified the cellulose aerogels that could serve as suitable environmentally benign templates to support well-dispersed nanoscale g-Fe 2 O 3 [4] , cobalt ferrite [5] , anatase titania [6] and rod-like ZnO [7] . Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an alluring class of materials from both theoretical and applied viewpoints, which have attracted tremendous attention since the discovery by Iijima in 1991, due to their outstanding electrical, mechanical, and physicochemical properties [8,9] .…”

Facile construction of cellulose nanocomposite aerogel containing TiO2 nanoparticles with high content and small size and their applications

“…The preparation of TiO 2 /cellulose aerogels using native nanocellulose as a matrix has been reported (Kettunen et al 2011;Korhonen et al 2011). However, using regenerated cellulose aerogel as a template for the synthesis of TiO 2 /cellulose composite aerogel has rarely been reported except for several reports (Korhonen et al 2011;Lu et al 2014;Wan et al 2015). In these papers, TiO 2 /cellulose composite aerogels with photocatalytic activities were prepared by atomic layer deposition, mixing and hydrothermal method.…”