Photocatalytic degradation of xanthate in flotation plant tailings by TiO₂/graphene nanocomposites

This study has invented a novel composite photocatalytic material of TiO₂/graphene (TiO₂/G) via the hydrothermal method. The prepared TiO₂/graphene (TiO₂/G) composite catalysts were investigated in detail using various characterisation experiments. The characterisation experiments indicated that the TiO₂/graphene (TiO₂/G) nanocomposites were successfully prepared. It can be observed that the TiO₂ nanoparticles were observed uniformly distributing on the graphene oxide (GO) and the prepared TiO₂/graphene (TiO₂/G) nanocomposites possess huge specific surface area, small pore size, and low electron-hole pair complexation rate to degrade the pollutants. For the first time, TiO₂/G is used as a photocatalytic material to treat mineral processing wastewater. Compared to GO and TiO₂, under simulated light irradiation, the photodegradation efficiency of 18% TiO₂/G samples reached 97.03% after 100 min. By successfully anchoring TiO₂ on GO, the photoresponse range of TiO₂/G was broadened (from 200–380 nm to 200–800 nm). The activity was also further improved (after 100 min of simulated light, the photocatalytic efficiency of pure TiO₂ was only 17.88%, and the photocatalytic efficiency of 18% TiO₂/G was 5.43 times higher than that of pure TiO₂). This work advances the development of a potential photo-, photoelectro-systems for the treatment of real mineral processing wastewater.