Solvothermal synthesis and photoreactivity of anatase TiO(2) nanosheets with dominant {001} facets

J Am Chem Soc. 2009 Mar 25;131(11):4078-83. doi: 10.1021/ja808790p.

Abstract

Owing to wide-ranging industrial applications and fundamental importance, tailored synthesis of well-faceted single crystals of anatase TiO(2) with high percentage of reactive facets has attracted much research interest. In this work, high-quality anatase TiO(2) single-crystal nanosheets mainly dominated by {001} facets have been prepared by using a water-2-propanol solvothermal synthetic route. The synergistic functions of 2-propanol and HF on the growth of anatase TiO(2) single-crystal nanosheets were studied by first-principle theoretical calculations, revealing that the addition of 2-propanol can strengthen the stabilization effect associated with fluorine adsorption over (001) surface and thus stimulate its preferred growth. By measuring the (*)OH species with terephthalic acid scavenger, the as-prepared anatase TiO(2) single-crystal nanosheets having 64% {001} facets show superior photoreactivity (more than 5 times), compared to P25 as a benchmarking material.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Crystallization
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Photochemical Processes
  • Solvents
  • Temperature
  • Titanium / chemistry*

Substances

  • Solvents
  • titanium dioxide
  • Titanium