Disorder modification and photocatalytic activity enhancement of TiO2 nanocrystals through ultrasonic hydroxylation

Disorder modification of TiO2 nanocrystals (NCs) has been proved to enhance the photocatalytic activity through surface defects and band-gap narrowing. In this contribution, we used a facile way of ultrasonic irradiation to induce the hydroxyls injection into TiO2 (P25) crystal lattice, which obtained disordered TiO2 NCs. In order to improve the degree of ultrasonic-induced disorder, extension of ultrasonic time or increasing alkalinity was necessary, which continuously regulated the energy band structure of TiO2 and could at most improve the solar-driven photocatalytic activity for 2.33 times than original P25 NCs. (C) 2017 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.