Enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen generation of mesoporous rutile TiO2 single crystal with wholly exposed {111} facets

The development of semiconductor photocatalysts with highly reactive facets exposed has great potential to improve their photocatalytic reactivity. We report the synthesis of mesoporous rutile TiO2 single crystals with tunable ratios of {110} and {111} facets through the seeded-template hydrothermal method. With increasing the amount of morphology controlling agent NaF, the facet ratio of {111} to {110} increases, and eventually the mesoporous rutile TiO2 single crystals with wholly exposed {111} reactive facets are obtained. The resultant faceted mesoporous single crystals exhibit a superior photocatalytic performance of hydrogen evolution to mesoporous single crystals with a large percentage of thermodynamically stable {110} facets, as well as the solid rutile single crystals.

Graphical AbstractMesoporous rutile TiO2 single crystal with wholly exposed {111} facets exhibits a significantly enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate relative to the mesoporous samples with {111} and {110} facets as well as the solid single crystals.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide