Direct growth of shape controlled TiO2 nanocrystals onto SWCNTs for highly active photocatalytic materials in the visible

•Anatase TiO2 nanocrystals have been grown directly at the surface of SWCNT.•TiO2 nanocrystal shape can be finely tuned from dot to rod according to reaction conditions.•The obtained SWCNTs/TiO2 heterostructures result dispersible in organic solvents.•Photocatalytic properties have been investigated under UV and Visible irradiation.•SWCNTs/TiO2 demonstrated significant enhancement of photocatalytic activity.

We report a very effective synthetic approach to achieve the in situ growth, directly at the surface of single walled carbon nanotubes, of shape controlled anatase TiO2 nanocrystals, either as nanorods or nanospheres, by simply tuning the ratio between reactants. Remarkably, the obtained SWCNTs/TiO2 heterostructures result dispersible in organic solvents, leading to optically clear dispersions. The photocatalytic activity of the SWCNTs/TiO2 heterostructures, compared with bare TiO2 nanorods or nanospheres demonstrates a significant enhancement. In particular, SWCNTs/TiO2 heterostructures demonstrates an enhancement of reaction rate up to 3 times with respect to the commercially available standard TiO2 powder (TiO2 P25) under UV light and up to 2 times under visible light.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide