Abstract

Synchronous illumination X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (SIXPS) was employed for the first time to directly identify the photogenerated charge separation and transfer on anatase TiO2 single-crystals with selectively etched {001} facets. More specifically, for the TiO2 crystals with intact {001} and {101} facets, most of photogenerated charge carriers rapidly recombined, and no evident electron-hole separation was detected. With selectively etching on {001} facets, high efficient charge separation via hole transfer to titanium and electron to oxygen was clearly observed. However, when the {001} facets were completely etched into a hollow structure, the recombination for photogenerated electron-hole pairs would dominate again. These demonstrations clearly reveal that the appropriate corrosion on {001} facets could facilitate more efficient electron-hole separation and transfer. As expected, the optimized TiO2 microcrystals with etched {001} facets could achieve a hydrogen generation rate of 74.3 μmol/h/g, which is nearly 7 times higher than the intact-TiO2 crystals.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.