Hydrothermal synthesis and photocatalytic properties of layered La2Ti2O7 nanosheets

Layered La2Ti2O7 nanosheets were prepared through a one-step hydrothermal method at low temperature. The concentration of NaOH mineralizer plays an important role in the synthesis. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show that the thickness of every nanosheet is about 5-10 nm, while the planar dimension is more than 1 mu m. The photo-catalytic activities of the nanosheets were characterized by the decolourization of methyl orange solution and the evolution rate of H-2. The results demonstrated that the La2Ti2O7 nanosheets possess significantly improved photocatalytic properties in water purification and evolution rate of H-2 from water-ethanol solution compared with those of samples prepared by conventional solid-state reaction.