TiO2/Ag2O immobilized on cellulose paper: A new floating system for enhanced photocatalytic and antibacterial activities

Paper-TiO-AgO floating photocatalysts were produced under mild condition and their photocatalytic activity for the degradation of aromatic amine under sunlight stimulant was investigated. Characterizations by Raman, XRD, XPS, DRS and PL confirmed the presence of TiO and AgO, and the morphology of the appended TiO/AgO layer was probed by FE-SEM. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples was investigated by the degradation of aniline (AN) in water under simulated sun-light illumination and constrained conditions, i.e. non-stirring and non-oxygenation. The presence of AgO combined with TiO was shown to improve the resistance of paper to bacteria attack, thus increasing the durability of the photocatalyst. Thanks to its hydrophobic character, the paper-TiO-AgO NPs can be employed as useful floating photocatalyst and can be reused in continuous cycles.