Photoelectrocatalytic Efficiency of Low-Temperature Precipitated Monolayer Rutile TiO2 Nanoflower Film

Phase pure rutile monolayers consisted of nearly single-crystalline nanorods which self-assemble to nanoflowers were synthesized on conductive metallic Ti substrates at a low temperature of 80 degrees C, using a precursor solution derived by interactions between Ti plate and hydrogen peroxide. The effects of the precipitation temperature, duration, and the subsequent thermal treatment on the efficiency of the achieved nanoflower films to assist photoelectrocatalytic decomposition of rhodamine B in water were studied in detail. An optimized rutile nanoflower film possessed a photoelectrocatalytic efficiency 4.9 times that of a commercial rutile nanoparticle with similar grain size, and 1.3 times that of Degussa P25 titania nanoparticles. The enhanced efficiency can be contributed to the photoanode with the unique structure of nanoflower monolayers, which possessed a high specific surface area as well as a high separation rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs under the applied bias potential.