Effective photocatalytic degradation and physical adsorption of methylene blue using cellulose/GO/TiO hydrogels.

Environmentally friendly cellulose/GO/TiO hydrogel photocatalyst has been successfully fabricated a green, simple, and one-step method and evaluated as the photocatalyst and adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue (MB). The XRD and FTIR analysis suggested the strong interaction among cellulose, GO and TiO, resulting from the formation of hydrogen bonds. Due to the unique porous structure of cellulose hydrogel and introduction of GO, the cellulose/GO/TiO hydrogel showed superior (degradation ratio ∼ 93%) and reproducible (no significant change during the ten consecutive cycles) performance in the removal of MB under UV light. Consequently, the prepared cellulose/GO/TiO hydrogel can be applied as an eco-friendly, high-performance, reproducible, and stable photocatalyst and adsorbent for the removal of MB. This green hydrogel is a promising candidate for dye wastewater treatment. Moreover, this work is expected to extend the scope of bio-templated synthesis of other nanomaterials for various applications.