Thermal crosslinking synthesis of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer supported floating TiO photocatalyst: characterization and photocatalytic performance.

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 TiO/EVA using a simple thermal crosslinking procedure. Multiple characterization analyses demonstrated that TiO 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 TiO/EVA increased by 33.8% as compared to suspended particle TiO. The h and ·O played dominant roles in TiO/EVA-driven RhB degradation. A 30-day stability test demonstrated that TiO/EVA had a high thermal, pH, and photo- stability. The three-run reuse test proved that TiO/EVA exhibited satisfactory reusability. This study provides a new option for floating photocatalyst synthesis.