Synthesis of heterostructured Pd@TiO2/TiOF2 nanohybrids with enhanced photocatalytic performance

• TiO2/TiOF2 nanohybrids was synthesized via a two-step solvothermal method.
• TiO2/TiOF2 exhibited superior photoactivity in comparison with TiOF2 or TiO2.
• The photocatalytic activity was further improved by loading Pd nanoparticles.
• Synergistic effect between TiOF2 and TiO2 was responsible for the enhanced photocatalytic performance over TiO2/TiOF2.

TiO2/TiOF2 heterostructured nanocomposites has been synthesized through a solvothermal method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electronic microscopy, transmission electronic microscopy, nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms, UV–vis and photo-luminescent spectroscopy. It was found that, compared with single TiOF2 or TiO2, the as-prepared TiO2/TiOF2 nanocomposites exhibited superior photoactivity towards the degradation of organic pollutants, i.e. rhodamine B and solar hydrogen evolution. The results are in accordance with the prohibition of photogenerated electrons and holes recombination in these two samples under light illumination. The photocatalytic activity can be further boosted by introducing Pd nanoparticles onto the surfaces of TiO2/TiOF2 through a simple deposition method without using any stabilizers, which is probably attributed to the enhanced visible-light absorption as well as the facilitated charge-carrier separation after the introduction of Pd nanoparticles. The synergistic effect between TiOF2 and TiO2 was discussed and was responsible for the enhancement of their activity in comparison with single counterpart.

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