Template free preparation of TiO2/C core-shell hollow sphere for high performance photocatalysis

TiO2/C core-shell hollow sphere has been prepared successfully and template-freely by a traditional hydrothermal reaction and followed by solution method and annealing under Ar atmosphere. The carbon core serves as the acceptor of photo-generated electrons and stops the electronehole pairs from recombination without loss of the light adsorption of the TiO2 photocatalyst. The as-prepared composite performs a slight red shift and higher absorbance than that of pure TiO2, resulting in higher photocatalytic activity. The TiO2/C core-shell hollow sphere presents excellent photocatalytic activity that the Rhodamine B (RhB) can be photo-degraded by more than 90% under two hours' UV irradiation comparing to 70% of pure TiO2 hollow sphere. Furthermore, the kinetic rate of TiO2/C core-shell hollow sphere is twice as high as the pure TiO2. The results suggest that the as-prepared TiO2/C core-shell hollow sphere has potential application in waste water treatment industry. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.