Thermal crosslinking synthesis of ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymer supported floating TiO2 photocatalyst: characterization and photocatalytic performance

Wu, Qiang; Meng, Jizhong; Yao, Hang; Tang, Rui; Yuan, Shoujun; Wang, Yulan; Wang, Wei; Luo, Haiping; Hu, Zhen-Hu

Thermal crosslinking synthesis of ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymer supported floating TiO2 photocatalyst: characterization and photocatalytic performance

2022

Floating photocatalyst is of extensive interest due to easy recovery and efficient light harvest. Support materials largely determine the stability of floating photocatalysts and their synthesis complexity. Thus, finding proper floating supports is very important. Herein, ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) was investigated as a support to prepare floating TiO₂/EVA using a simple thermal crosslinking procedure. Multiple characterization analyses demonstrated that TiO₂ was anchored onto EVA surface evenly via hydrogen-bond-enhanced physical crosslinking and remained its virgin crystal structure. Photocatalytic experiments showed that the removal efficiency of Rhodamine B (RhB) by floating TiO₂/EVA increased by 33.8% as compared to suspended particle TiO₂. The h⁺ and ·O₂⁻ played dominant roles in TiO₂/EVA-driven RhB degradation. A 30-day stability test demonstrated that TiO₂/EVA had a high thermal, pH, and photo- stability. The three-run reuse test proved that TiO₂/EVA exhibited satisfactory reusability. This study provides a new option for floating photocatalyst synthesis.

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