One-pot facile synthesis of Ag/TiO2 spheres with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for hydrazine

• The highly dispersed Ag/TiO2 spheres have been synthesized by a one-pot facile method.
• Ag nanoparticles with uniform diameter about 20 nm homogeneously disperse and strongly anchor on TiO2 spheres.
• The nanoporous structure via in situ hydrolysis of TiO2 glycolate precursor is the key for the dispersion, size controlling and junction of Ag nanoparticles.

Highly dispersed Ag/TiO2 spheres have been synthesized via in situ hydrolysis of TiO2 glycolate spheres as precursors during a one-pot facile reduction. The structure and morphology of Ag/TiO2 spheres have been characterized by XRD, TEM and SEM. XRD show that Ag nanoparticles on TiO2 spheres have good crystalline and high purity. HRTEM prove that Ag nanoparticles with the uniform diameter of about 20 nm are well dispersed and strongly attached onto TiO2 spheres. The elemental mapping images of Ag/TiO2 show good distribution of Ag on the surface of TiO2 spheres. The enhanced electrocatalytic activity of Ag/TiO2 for hydrazine has been observed, indicating that the small size and good dispersion of Ag nanoparticles may be the key to improve the electrocatalytic activity of Ag/TiO2. The formation mechanisms of Ag/TiO2 spheres using TiO2 glycolate spheres as precursors have also been discussed.

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