RuO2/TiO2 nanobelt heterostructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity and gas-phase selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol

• Based on energy band matching, the RuO2/TiO2 nanobelt heterostructures are designed.
• The heterostructures exhibit an improved UV and visible photocatalytic performance.
• The heterostructure nanopapers present good activity for oxidation of benzyl alcohol.

Based on energy band matching between RuO2 and TiO2, the RuO2/TiO2 nanobelt heterostructures are designed and fabricated. The formed heterostructures can efficiently enhance the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and accelerate the transport of charges. Thanks to above-mentioned advantages, the RuO2/TiO2 nanobelt heterostructures exhibit an improved photocatalytic performance compared with P25, TiO2, and RuO2 under UV and visible light irradiation. Moreover, the nanopapers based on RuO2/TiO2 nanobelt heterostructures have been prepared via a modified paper-making process. The paper-like porous RuO2/TiO2 nanobelt heterostructures are applied in heterogeneous catalysis and present enhanced activity and selectivity for catalyzing aerobic oxidation of benzyl acohol. These results may provide a paradigm to fabricate and design the one-dimensional TiO2 nanostructured surface heterostructures with high efficiency and performance.

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