Preparation of Anatase TiO$lt;inf$gt;2$lt;/inf$gt; Nanocube with Exposed (001) Facet and Its Photocatalytic Properties

Abstract

Anatase TiO2 single crystals with exposed (001) facets were successfully synthesized by a one-step hydro- thermal route using TiF4 as raw material. The crystal phase, morphology, microstructure, and photoabsorption of the samples were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-Vis DRS). The influences of hydrothermal temperature and pH of solution on morphology of TiO2 and exposure of (001) facets were also investi- gated. Photocatalytic catalysts was evaluated by degradation of acid red dye. Experimental results demonstrated that exposure of (001) facets was beneficial for improving photocatalytic performance. Under ultraviolet light irradiation, TiO2 nanocube with exposure of (001) facets ca. 33% exhibited significantly higher activity than the common TiO2 without exposed (001) facets. The photocatalytic efficiency of the former was 1.6 times as high as that of the latter. The sample with the highest exposure of (001) facets was obtained at hydrothermal temperature of 180 and pH of ℃