Preparation and visible light photocatalytic activity of carbon quantum dots/TiO2 nanosheet composites

Carbon quantum dots (C QDs)/TiO2 nanosheet (TNS) composites were prepared by a simple low temperature process in which TNS were dispersed in C QDs solution, and dried at 60 °C. The C QDs/TNS composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM. The results indicated that C QDs were well combined with TNS through surface carbon-oxygen groups. The photocatalytic activity was investigated by degradation of rhodamine B under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of C QDs/TNS composites was significantly enhanced compared with that of C QDs/P25 composites and pure TNS, which indicated that the unique up-converted photoluminescence behavior of C QDs and highly reactive {0 0 1} facets of TNS both played important roles in the enhancement of photocatalytic activity of C QDs/TNS composites.