Insight of Diversified Reactivity and Theoretical Study of Mixed-Phase Titanium Dioxide for the Photoactivation of Small Molecules

The mixed-phase titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were prepared by two different methods; sonothermal (S) and sonothermal followed by hydrothermal (SH). The TiO2 prepared by SH has shown a superior hydrogen (H2) generation via photocatalytic splitting of water (H2O) and formic acid (FA) as well as photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) to methanol (MeOH). The H-2 production rate under UVA from H2O and FA was 0.02 and 3.91 mmol g(-1) h(-1) respectively while MeOH formation rate was 1.97 mmol g(-1) h(-1) from CO2. The DFT calculations of the reactants and products were also investigated.