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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