Controllable preparation and improved performance of TiO₂ photocatalysts with various structures

Abstract

TiO2 has been widely accepted in various photocatalysts due to its low cost, high stability, structural robustness and non-toxicity. Hydrothermal method was used to prepare TiO2 photocatalysts with different morphology, structure and crystal morphology, including three-dimensional TiO2 spheres, shuttle-shaped TiO2, one-dimensional nanorod TiO2 and nanotube TiO2 films. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue by titanium dioxide with five different morphologies under white light was characterized by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet visible light absorption spectroscopy, and the effects of morphology, structure and crystal type on TiO2 performance were analyzed. The preparation methods of titanium dioxide photocatalyst with good properties were compared. It is proven that higher crystallinity, small particle size, larger specific surface area, higher absorbance and a certain proportion of mixed crystal phase are beneficial to obtain better photocatalytic performance.