Remarkable Charge Separation and Photocatalytic Efficiency Enhancement through Interconnection of TiO2 Nanoparticles by Hydrothermal Treatment

Although tremendous effort has been directed to synthesizing advanced TiO2, it remains difficult to obtain TiO2 exhibiting a photocatalytic efficiency higher than that of P25, a benchmark photocatalyst. P25 is composed of anatase, rutile, and amorphous TiO2 particles, and photoexcited electron transfer and subsequent charge separation at the anatase-rutile particle interfaces explain its high photocatalytic efficiency. Herein, we report on a facile and rational hydrothermal treatment of P25 to selectively convert the amorphous component into crystalline TiO2, which is deposited between the original anatase and rutile particles to increase the particle interfaces and thus enhance charge separation. This process produces a new TiO2 exhibiting a considerably enhanced photocatalytic efficiency. This method of synthesizing this TiO2, inspired by a recently burgeoning zeolite design, promises to make TiO2 applications more feasible and effective.