Efficient photocatalytic performance of hydrogen bonding between P25 and microcrystalline cellulose aerogel

RSC Adv. 2024 Nov 22;14(50):37546-37553. doi: 10.1039/d4ra07087a. eCollection 2024 Nov 19.

Abstract

A series of MC/P25 composite aerogels (MCAPs) were newly designed by the sol-gel method and CO2 supercritical drying technology. Under visible light irradiation, the optimized MCAP exhibits enhanced photocatalytic performance with a AO7 degradation rate of 0.01746 min-1, which is 6.6 times higher than that of P25. The enhanced photocatalytic performance can be mainly ascribed to the constructed H-bonds between microcrystalline cellulose and P25. Photocurrent-time curves and photoluminescence spectra all certified the increased photogenerated carrier transfer rates of MCAP due to the presence of H-bonds. This work indicates that the presence of H-bonds can efficiently transfer photo-induced electrons and limit the recombination of photogenerated carriers. Furthermore, as a 3D aerogel photocatalyst, the photocatalytic stability is improved.