Synthesis of rutile–brookite TiO2 by dealloying Ti–Cu amorphous alloy

• Rutile–brookite nanoflower was prepared by chemical dealloying method.
• The rutile–brookite nanoflower exhibited large specific surface area.
• The rutile–brookite nanoflower exhibited red shift in the absorbance spectra.
• The rutile–brookite nanoflower exhibited good photocatalytic activity.
• The rutile–brookite nanoflower exhibited good recyclable and renewable stability.

Nanosized rutile–brookite TiO2 was prepared by a chemical dealloying method. The nanosized rutile–brookite TiO2 consist of rutile-type nanorods and brookite-type nanocubes. The size of rutile-type nanorod is about 200 nm in length and 50 nm in diameter. The brookite-type nanocube is a relatively rough cube with a size of about 150 nm. The formation mechanism was investigated. The formation of brookite or rutile strongly is depended on the Ti/Cl ratio of the solution. Compared with commercial nanosized TiO2 product (P25), the light absorption spectrum of the rutile–brookite TiO2 exhibits obvious red shift. The as-prepared nanosized rutile–brookite TiO2 exhibits good photocatalytic activity, recovery and recycle stability.

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