Constructing a novel hierarchical 3D flower-like nano/micro titanium phosphate with efficient hydrogen evolution from water splitting

•Shape-controlled titanium phosphate (TiP) was prepared by a one-step method.•It is the first report of mesoporous 3D flower-like nano/micro TiP.•The morphological change of TiP from 3D flower shape to near fibrous shape.•Mesoporous 3D flower-like nano/micro TiP exhibited an enhanced H2 productivity.

A novel nano/micro hierarchical structured titanium phosphate with unique 3D flower-like morphology has been prepared by a simple hydrothermal method without adding any surfactants. The shape of the titanium phosphate could be controlled by simply adjusting the concentration of phosphoric acid. The 3D flower-like titanium phosphate with diameter of 2–3 μm is characterized by the assembly of numerous porous and connected lamella structures. Interestingly, this novel hierarchical mesoporous 3D flower-like titanium exhibits enhanced hydrogen evolution from water splitting under xenon lamp irradiation in the presence of methanol as the sacrificial reagent, which is also the first example of 3D flower-like titanium phosphate with high photocatalytic activity for water splitting. Since the use of titanium phosphate as a photocatalyst has been mostly neglected up to now, this low-cost, simple procedure and large-scale yield of 3D nano/micro structure titanium phosphate could be expected to be applicable in the synthesis of controlled, reproducible and robust photocatalytic systems.

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