Abstract
A nanoheterostructure of titanate nanotubes decorated with anatase nanoparticles (TiNT@AnNP) was synthesized for the first time by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal one-pot reaction. Characterization by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected-area electron diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed highly crystalline and nanometer-sized TiNT@AnNP. The synthesized TiNT@AnNP degraded an anionic dye (Remazol blue) more efficiently under UV-visible light (380–780 nm) than a commercial anatase-TiO2 precursor. We correlated this increased efficiency of photodegradation to the large surface area and the efficient separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs. Finally, we propose a mechanism to highlight the influence of a microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis in the production of TiNT@AnNP for environmental applications.
Highlights
Nanostructured titanium oxide- (TiO2-) based compounds are one of the most intensely studied families of inorganic oxides in the literature [1]
Synthesis of a titanate-anatase heterostructure was achieved by controlled thermal annealing, causing a two-step dehydration, the first step being at the layers, leading to a decrease in interlayer distance, and the second step resulting in partial destruction of the tube, forming anatase particles on titanate nanotubes at 350–400°C [10]
A nanoheterostructure of a titanate nanotube decorated with anatase nanoparticles was generated by a one-pot microwave-assisted hydrothermal method with anatase as the precursor; this had not been reported previously
Summary
Nanostructured titanium oxide- (TiO2-) based compounds are one of the most intensely studied families of inorganic oxides in the literature [1]. A layered titanate nanostructure has strong structural similarity to the anatase phase of TiO2, with similar building blocks of TiO6 octahedrons, connected by corner- and edge-sharing oxygen atoms forming negatively charged two-dimensional sheets, which facilitates fast ion diffusion, leading to exchange and intercalation, and the increased surface area facilitates photocatalytic application [2] Different synthetic techniques, such as template-based methods, sol-gel process, anodic oxidation, and hydrothermal treatment have been used to generate titanate nanostructures with different morphologies and properties [3]. Postsynthetic hydrothermal treatment of titanate tubes at 150°C for 24 h yielded phase transformation of trititanate to anatase, which exhibited an increased surface area as well as a decreased band gap, which is ideal for photocatalysis reactions [13] In recent years, another great advance in the synthetic strategy has been achieved by using microwave heating in place of conventional heating as it is a faster and more efficient heating method [14]. Our method is an alternative and economic one-pot synthetic route to achieve a better catalyst
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