Cellulose-based photocatalytic paper with Ag₂O nanoparticles loaded on graphite fibers

TiO₂ nanoparticle is the most extensively used photocatalyst for photocatalytic paper. However, TiO₂ nanoparticle is active only under UV light that accounted for less than 5% of the solar light energy. There is a need to develop a photocatalytic paper with full spectrum photoactivity. Herein, a full spectrum photocatalytic paper was fabricated by incorporating cellulose fibers with graphite fibers which were pre-loaded with Ag₂O nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) testing and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination confirmed the loading of the Ag₂O nanoparticles onto the graphite fibers. The photocatalytic activity of the paper was evaluated with the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under ultraviolet, visible or near-infrared light irradiation. It was found that the degradation rate of MO could reach 32%, 19% and 19% under UV, visible and NIR light, respectively after 3 h of irradiation. Meanwhile, the photocatalytic paper was very stable and can be reused repeatedly. Antibacterial tests showed that the photocatalytic paper could inhibit Escherichia coli (E. coli) growth under office lighting condition.