Interfacial Growth of TiO₂‑rGO Composite by Pickering Emulsion for Photocatalytic Degradation

A 2D sandwich-like TiO₂-rGO composite was fabricated by the Pickering emulsion approach to improve the photocatalytic efficiency. Through an in situ growth of antase-TiO₂ nanoparticles on the interface of O/W type GO Pickering emulsion, TiO₂ nanoparticles were closely and densely packed on the surface of well-exfoliated rGO sheets; meanwhile, many mesoporous voids acting as the adsorption chamber and microreactor were produced. Evaluated by methylene blue (MB) degradation, its photocatalytic activity was prominent compared with the common TiO₂-based photocatalyst, with the rate constants 5 and 3.1 times higher under visible light and xenon lamp, respectively. When we applied it in the photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH, such as 10 ppm) under the visible light without adding any oxidants, the total removal efficiency was as high as 94% after 40 min. The mechanism of this good photocatalytic efficiency was illustrated by the scavenger trapping tests, which showed that this unique structure of TiO₂-rGO composite induced by the Pickering emulsion can significantly enhance the light absorption ability, accelerate the separation rate of electron–hole pairs, increase the adsorption capacity of organic pollutants, and hence improve the photocatalytic efficiency

Interfacial Growth of Metal Organic Framework/Graphite Oxide Composites through Pickering Emulsion and Their CO₂ Capture Performance in the Presence of Humidity

We proposed an in situ interfacial growth method induced by the Pickering emulsion strategy to produce metal organic framework (MOF)/graphite oxide (GO) composites of Cu₃(BTC)₂/GO, in which GO was demonstrated to be a promising stabilizer for producing the Pickering emulsion and provided a large interfacial area for the in situ growth of Cu₃(BTC)₂ nanoparticles. When Cu₃(BTC)₂/GO composites were used as adsorbents for CO₂ capture from the simulated humid flue gas, they showed both significantly improved thermodynamic and dynamic properties. Because most of the H₂O molecules were adsorbed on the highly exfoliated GO sheets in Cu₃(BTC)₂/GO-m, CO₂ uptake reached 3.30 mmol/g after exposure to the simulated flue gas for 60 min and remained unchanged for up to 120 min. This highlighted its potential application for real CO₂ capture. More importantly, the in situ interfacial growth of nanoparticles induced by Pickering emulsions would be a promising strategy for designing and fabricating nanocomposites