2020年6月，我院教师付敦博士以通讯作者在环境科学与工程领域国际期刊Journal of Environmental Management (中科院2区Top期刊；影响因子：4.865)上发表题为“Functionalizing TiO₂ with Graphene Oxide for Enhancing Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) in Contaminated Wastewater” (10871)的学术论文，该研究工作得到了宿州学院博士科研启动基金(2019jb14)的资助与安徽省教育厅矿井水资源化利用重点实验室的平台支持。

论文摘要：Methylene blue is a refractory pollutant commonly present in textile wastewater. This study tests the feasibility of TiO₂/graphene oxide (GO) composite in enhancing photocatalytic degradation of MB in synthetic wastewater with respect to scientific and engineering aspects. To enhance its removal, we vary the composition of the composite based on the TiO₂ weight. Under UV-vis irradiation, the effects of photocatalyst’s dose, pH, and reaction time on MB removal by the composites are evaluated under optimum conditions, while any changes in their physico-chemical properties before and after treatment are analyzed by using TEM, SEM, XRD, FTIR and BET. The photodegradation pathways of the target pollutant by the composite and its removal mechanisms are also elaborated. It is found that the same composite with a 1:2 weight ratio of GO/TiO₂ has the largest surface area of 104.51 m²/g. Under optimum reactions (0.2 g/L of composite, pH 10, and 5 mg/L of pollutant’s concentration), an almost complete MB removal could be attained within 4 h. This result is higher than that of the TiO₂ alone (30%) under the same conditions. Since the treated effluents could meet the strict discharge standard limit of ≤ 0.2 μg/L set by China’s regulation, subsequent biological treatments are unnecessary for completing biodegradation of remaining oxidation by-products in the wastewater effluents.