Hierarchical TiO₂ nanorods with a highly active surface for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction

Abstract

Photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) has been considered as one of most effective ways to solve the current energy crisis and environmental problems. However, the practical application of photocatalytic CO₂RR is largely hindered by lock of efficient catalyst. Here, hierarchical titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanostructures with a highly active {001} surface were successfully synthesized by a facile approach from metal Ti powders. The obtained hierarchical TiO₂ nanostructures were composed of TiO₂ nanorods, which have a diameter about 5–10 nm and a length of several micrometers. It is found that these nanorods have exposed {001} facets. On the other hand, these hierarchical TiO₂ nanostructures have a good light-harvesting efficiency with the help of TiO₂ nanorods component and large specific surface area. Therefore, these hierarchical TiO₂ nanostructures exhibit a much better activity for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction than that of commercial TiO₂ (P25). This high activity can be attributed to the synergistic effects of active surface, efficient charge transfer along nanorods and good light harvesting in the nanorod-hierarchical nanostructures.

Keywords

TiO₂ / {001} facets / hierarchical nanorods / CO₂ photoreduction

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