Moqing Wu

In Situ Formation of Disorder-Engineered TiO2(B)-Anatase Heterophase Junction for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Hydrogenation of semiconductors is an efficient way to increase their photocatalytic activity by forming disorder-engineered structures. Herein, we report a facile hydrogenation process of TiO2(B) nanobelts to in situ generate TiO2(B)-anatase heterophase junction with a disordered surface shell. The catalyst exhibits an excellent performance for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under the simulated solar light irradiation (∼580 μmol h(-1), 0.02 g photocatalyst). The atomically well-matched heterophase junction, along with the disorder-engineered surface shell, promotes the separation of electron-hole and inhibits their recombination. This strategy can be further employed to design other disorder-engineered composite photocatalysts for solar energy utilization.

Hydrogenated Cagelike Titania Hollow Spherical Photocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution under Simulated Solar Light Irradiation

We synthesized the hydrogenated cagelike TiO2 hollow spheres through a facile sacrificial template method. After the hydrogenation treatment, the disordered surface layer and cagelike pores were generated on the shell of the hollow spheres. The spheres exhibit a high hydrogen evolution rate of 212.7 ± 10.6 μmol h(-1) (20 mg) under the simulated solar light irradiation, which is ∼12 times higher than the hydrogenated TiO2 solid spheres and is ∼9 times higher than the original TiO2 hollow spheres. The high activity results from the unique architectures and hydrogenation. Both the multiple reflection that was improved by the cagelike hollow structures and the red shift of the absorption edge that was induced by hydrogenation can enhance the ultraviolet and visible light absorption. In addition, the high concentration of oxygen vacancies, as well as the hydrogenated disordered surface layer, can improve the efficiency for migration and separation of generated charge carriers.