Applied Surface Science, Vol.426, 325-332, 2017
A novel and facile synthesis of black TiO(2 )with improved visible-light photocatalytic H-2 generation: Impact of surface modification with CTAB on morphology, structure and property
A novel and facile approach to prepare black TiO(2 )nanoparticles has been developed using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as structure guiding agent. CTAB has played a crucial role in the formation process of TiO2 nanoparticles by altering the morphology and pore structures, promoting the genera tion of oxygen vacancies and effectively improving the visible light absorption intensity. Synthetic black TiO2-CTAB-300 degrees C nanoparticles have a high crystallinity with regular mesoporous structure, possessing small particle size, high surface area, and an efficient response to broadband light covering the entire UV-vis-near IR spectrum. Moreover, as-prepared black TiO2-CTAB-300 degrees C nanoparticles showed higher photocatalytic H-2 generation activity under visible light compared with control TiO2. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.