| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45273 | Applied Catalysis B: Environmental | 2016 | 8 Pages |
•High content of brookite (72%) was achieved via a solvothermal approach.•Tert-butanol was found that can induce the formation of brookite.•High rate constants of three times higher than commercial DegussaP-25.•Phase composition, content as well as hybrid crystal structure were analyzed to explore the synergetic effect.•Semi-embedded structure importantly influences the final activity.
A facile solvothermal approach was used to prepare brookite-type TiO2 nanocrystals with different phase content and structure, accomplished by adjusting the ratio of TiCl4 to t-BuOH. The obtained biphasic brookite/rutile TiO2 nanocrystals showed a high brookite weight content (72%). The photocatalytic degradation of phenol under UV-irradiation was used to determine the synergetic effect from the combination of different phases (e.g., brookite, anatase, and rutile). The biphasic NST-4 composed of brookite and rutile exhibited the highest degradation rates, with rate constants three times higher than commercial Degussa P-25. Detailed analysis found that, besides phase composition and content, the semi-embedded structure was essential to obtain a superior activity of biphasic TiO2 samples.
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