In situ L-hydroxyproline functionalization and enhanced photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanorods

In this study, L-hydroxyproline-functionalized anatase TiO2 nanorods were prepared by a nonaqueous sol-gel route at 80 degrees C. The resulting samples were characterized by XRD, TEM, HRTEM, XPS, nitrogen adsorption, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The presence Of L-hydroxyproline on the TiO2 surface was confirmed by the analysis of FT-IR and C-13 NMR. It was found that the functionalization Of L-hydroxyproline could significantly enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 on the degradation of rhodamine B in aqueous solution under simulated solar light. The reasons for photocatalytic activity enhancement were analyzed on the basis of characterizations. This study provides an alternative functionalization method to improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. Meanwhile, the modification of L-hydroxyproline on TiO2 is expected to find new applications in fields of organic catalysis, foodstuffs, cosmetics, and so on.