@article {LIU2019198, title = {Graphene modified anatase/titanate nanosheets with enhanced photocatalytic activity for efficient degradation of sulfamethazine under simulated solar light}, journal = {Chemosphere}, volume = {233}, year = {2019}, pages = {198 - 206}, abstract = {Graphene modified anatase/titanate nanosheets (G/A/TNS) synthesized through hydrothermal treatment were used for solar-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of a typical pharmaceutically active compound, sulfamethazine (SMT). The optimal material was synthesized with 0.5 wt\% of graphene loading (G/A/TNS-0.5), which could efficiently degrade 96.1\% of SMT at 4 h. G/A/TNS-0.5 showed enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with the neat anatase and unmodified anatase/titanate nanosheets (A/TNS). UV{\textendash}vis diffuse reflection spectra indicated that G/A/TNS-0.5 had a lower energy band gap (Eg) of 2.8 eV than A/TNS (3.1 eV). The grafted graphene acted as an electron transfer mediator after photoexcitation, resulting in inhibition on rapid recombination of electron-hole pairs. More importantly, architecture of graphene and titanate nanosheets both with two-dimensional structures greatly facilitated the photoexcited electron transfer. {\textbullet}OH and 1O2 were the primary reactive oxygen species (ROS) to SMT degradation. Fukui index (f -) derived from density functional theory (DFT) calculation predicted the active sites on SMT molecule, and then SMT degradation pathway was proposed by means of intermediates identification and theoretical calculation. Furthermore, G/A/TNS-0.5 could be well reused and 90.5\% of SMT was also degraded after five runs. The developed new photocatalysts show great potential for degradation of emerging organic contaminants through photocatalysis under solar light.}, keywords = {DFT calculation, Graphene, Pharmaceuticals, Photocatalysis, Titanium nanomaterials}, issn = {0045-6535}, doi = {http://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.05.229}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653519311506}, author = {Xiaona Liu and Ji, Haodong and Si Li and Liu, Wen} }