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A simple sol–gel hydrothermal method for the synthesis of defective TiO2 nanocrystals with excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity

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Abstract

Defective TiO2 nanocrystals (D-TiO2) were synthesized by a simple, mild and green sol–gel hydrothermal method. The as-prepared sample possesses a high specific surface area of 173.6 m2/g and high crystallinity of anatase phase without any calcination. Raman, EPR and XPS spectrum confirmed the existence of oxygen vacancies in D-TiO2. These oxygen vacancies provide D-TiO2 with visible-light photocatalytic activity, as demonstrated by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). The degradation pathway of RhB over D-TiO2 was investigated, and the possible photocatalytic mechanism was also proposed. The excellent photocatalytic property of D-TiO2 was mainly attributed to the synergistic effect between the high surface area and abundant oxygen vacancies. This work presents a new route to synthesize high-performance visible-light-responsive TiO2 photocatalyst.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21703288), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2632019PY02), the Young Teacher Research Funds from College of Science, China Pharmaceutical University (2018CSYT009), and the Youth Project of Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Education Commission of China (KJQN201801226).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, China

    Junting Xi, Yiping Zhang & Ying Hu

  2. School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing Three Gorges University, Wanzhou, Chongqing, 404100, China

    Xing Chen

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  1. Junting Xi
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Correspondence to Ying Hu.

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Xi, J., Zhang, Y., Chen, X. et al. A simple sol–gel hydrothermal method for the synthesis of defective TiO2 nanocrystals with excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity. Res Chem Intermed 46, 2205–2214 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11164-020-04087-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11164-020-04087-x

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