The effect of hydrothermal temperature on the structure and photocatalytic activity of {001} faceted anatase TiO2

•Hydrothermal temperature is important in determining the structure and property.•{001} facet fusing will reduce its percent and enlarge the bandgap.•Stubbornly expose the high-reactive facet may not benefit the photocatalysis.

The effect of the hydrothermal temperature on the crystal structures and properties of {001} faceted anatase TiO2 are systematically investigated. Results indicate that the reaction temperature has little effect on the particle size, but results in fusing the adjacent {001} facet and eliminating the cross-linked structure. Along with the decreased {001} facet percentage, the decreased crystal defects, increased crystallinity, and raised conduction band (CB) minimum dramatically increase the methylene blue (MB) decomposing efficiency. The present study indicates that it’s important to take into consideration of various factors in designing efficient photocatalysts, but not only to expose the high-reactive facets.