High surface area, amorphous titania with reactive Ti³⁺ through a photo-assisted synthesis method for photocatalytic H₂ generation

Abstract

A facile approach for the preparation of high surface area, Ti3+ containing titania with good activity for photocatalytic H2 production is reported.

Electrochemical Synthesis of TiO2 under Pulse Alternating Current: Effect of Thermal Treatment on the Photocatalytic Activity

“…This phenomenon has also been reported in various works on disordered or colloidal morphologies . When annealed in air the color of TiO 2 changed to pale yellow that could be explained by a decrease in the amount of defects and the crystallization process.…”

“…Several studies have shown that amorphous or disordered TiO 2 ‐based nanomaterials can have the higher photocatalytic activity than crystalline ones, which can be due to larger amounts of absorbed surface water species at the active sites, manifested by the higher concentrations of Ti 3+ at the surface upon band gap illumination . However, as shown in the work, amorphous TiO 2 photocatalysts are not “intrinsically” better than the commercially available crystalline counterparts that may be attributed to the increased recombination of photogenerated carriers. Thereby, understanding the role of TiO 2 crystallinity in the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity is within the scope of many studies …”

“…However, as shown in the work, amorphous TiO 2 photocatalysts are not “intrinsically” better than the commercially available crystalline counterparts that may be attributed to the increased recombination of photogenerated carriers. Thereby, understanding the role of TiO 2 crystallinity in the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity is within the scope of many studies …”

In Situ Fabrication of Hierarchically Branched TiO2 Nanostructures: Enhanced Performance in Photocatalytic H2 Evolution and Li–Ion Batteries

“…The reasons can be explained in detail as follows: (i) the sample HBTF had a larger specific surface area compared with OTF and P25. As is well known, nanomaterials with larger specific surface areas could offer more active sites and absorb more reactant, which leads to a higher photocatalytic performance . (ii) The hierarchically branched structures could improve the photon utilization efficiency .…”

Influence of TiO2 Morphology and Crystallinity on Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2-Bi2O3 Composite in AOPs

“…The use of amorphous materials as catalysts could be one of the approaches to lower the costs of AOPs. As temperature treatment for the crystallization is not required, the synthesis costs are lower, so the preparation procedure is more appropriate to be adopted for large-scale production [25,26]. In general, it is commonly accepted that for effective separation and generation of charge, carrier materials with high crystallinity are required.…”