One-pot self-assembled TiO2/graphene/poly(acrylamide) superporous hybrid for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

We report the development of TiO₂/graphene/poly(acrylamide) superporous hybrid by a radical polymerization reaction and explore its environmental application as photocatalyst of organic pollutants. During the polymerization reaction, graphene nanosheets and TiO₂ nanoparticles homogeneously distribute on the hydrogel, in which TiO₂ nanoparticles with a uniform size are densely anchored onto graphene and self-assembled into different structures with various graphene contents. The resultant TiO₂/graphene/poly(acrylamide) superporous hybrid experiences tremendous adsorption toward dye pollution before photodegradation, and it also displays similar photodecomposition efficiency with pristine TiO₂. Moreover, the TiO₂/graphene/poly(acrylamide) superporous hybrid is recyclable, which demonstrates the potential of hybrid as an attractive photocatalyst for wastewater treatment. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47033.