用于太阳光催化反应的空位工程

空位是一种点缺陷,广泛存在于非化学计量比的半导体光催化材料的晶格中.不同于其它研制复杂结构和组成的新型光催化剂的策略,空位工程设计方法可以基于传统的,由丰量元素组成的光催化剂进行表面或体相晶格的空位调控,以获得宽谱响应的高效光催化材料.该方法具有不引入杂质元素、成本低廉、方法简便等优点,且通过表面化学吸附作用可以耦合热催化和光催化过程,以实现增强的选择性光催化反应.空位的表征技术包括元素分析,扫描隧道显微镜,催化发光,光致发光或顺磁共振等直接和间接观测技术.近期正电子湮没谱发展成为一种研究空位的重要手段.这种方法可以区分不同位置(如体相和表面)和不同形式(如单一空位或联合空位)的空位并确定其相对浓度,从而用于探索空位影响光催化活性的规律.氧、氮、硫和卤素原子空位均属于阴离子空位.氢化处理法可以在光催化剂晶格中形成高浓度氧空位,并导致纳米材料表面层的晶格混乱.处理后光催化剂的光学吸收拓展到近红外区,电子给体浓度大大提高,促进了电子输运和界面电荷的迁移与分离;然而,可见光区的吸收对增强的光催化活性没有贡献.氧空位还可以作为活性位点吸附和解离反应物,促进电子从催化剂到吸附质间的转移,甚至直接参与到光催化和光化学反应中.富含氧空位的WO3可以耦合热催化和光催化反应促进CO2的选择性还原,或者利用近红外光活化分子氧并选择性氧化胺.氮空位是含氮的n型半导体光催化材料的本质属性.石墨氮化碳中的氮空位有助于促进电荷分离,同时可以作为化学吸附位用于选择性吸附,活化和还原氮气,因此富含氮空位的光催化剂在还原含氮化合物方面具有应用潜力.由于卤素原子在层状卤氧化铋的层间以较弱的范德华力存在,该类化合物容易形成卤原子空位.通过热处理碘氧化铋可以获得活性增强的含碘空位化合物.空位的出现导致带隙变宽和价带下移,光生空穴氧化能力提高,从而获得更好的光催化活性.传统的n型半导体光催化剂中难以形成阳离子空位.理论研究表明,含阳离子空位的TiO2具有一系列优点,包括电子传输性能提高,载流子复合受到抑制等.并且钛空位可以作为表面活性位促进水的吸附和离解,从而提高光解水效率.含钛空位的p型TiO2可以通过焙烧甘油化的前驱体制备,钛空位的出现使得光解水和催化降解有机物活性均大幅提高.含碳空位的石墨氮化碳不仅表现出增强的光催化活性,同时能够提高氧吸附并促进两电子还原氧气产生H2O2的反应过程.铋空位能够有效提高铋基光催化剂BiPO4和Bi6S2O15的活性.二维纳米材料的晶面和厚度可以影响表面空位的组成和浓度.BiOCl纳米片的表面是以铋空位为主,而超薄的BiOCl纳米片则是以铋氧联合空位为主,从而表现更优异的光催化活性.最近研究者在含空位的高性能光催化剂制备以及性能调控规律方面取得了长足进展,今后还将继续发展先进的表征技术,进一步研究空位的调控和稳定化手段,并全面理解空位对光催化反应的影响基本规律.空位工程将在半导体光催化技术中发挥更加重要的作用.     

不锈钢基底上TiO2薄膜型光催化剂的制备和化学结构

采用钛酸正丁酯作为前驱体,通过溶胶-凝胶法在不锈钢基片上制备了TiO2纳米薄膜。利用俄歇电子能谱(AES)和紫外反射光谱等研究手段,对TIO2薄膜的化学结构及基底材料界面相互作用进行了系统研究。结果发现,在不锈钢基底上形成的TiO2薄膜与基底材料发生了明显的界面扩散反应。在TiO2薄膜的形成过程中,不锈钢中Fe元素向TiO2薄膜层扩散,并与从大气氛中扩散到界面的氧发生化学反应,形成铁氧化物界面过渡层。界面氧化过程,导致了Fe向样品表面的偏析和扩散。在高温热处理过程中,Fe可以扩散到TiO2薄膜的表面。薄膜催化剂的紫外反射光谱表明,界面扩散反应导致了Fe扩散进入TiO2薄膜的晶格,从而改变了薄膜催化剂的光吸收性能。     

用于太阳光催化反应的空位工程（英文）

空位是一种点缺陷,广泛存在于非化学计量比的半导体光催化材料的晶格中.不同于其它研制复杂结构和组成的新型光催化剂的策略,空位工程设计方法可以基于传统的,由丰量元素组成的光催化剂进行表面或体相晶格的空位调控,以获得宽谱响应的高效光催化材料.该方法具有不引入杂质元素、成本低廉、方法简便等优点,且通过表面化学吸附作用可以耦合热催化和光催化过程,以实现增强的选择性光催化反应.空位的表征技术包括元素分析,扫描隧道显微镜,催化发光,光致发光或顺磁共振等直接和间接观测技术.近期正电子湮没谱发展成为一种研究空位的重要手段.这种方法可以区分不同位置(如体相和表面)和不同形式(如单一空位或联合空位)的空位并确定其相对浓度,从而用于探索空位影响光催化活性的规律.氧、氮、硫和卤素原子空位均属于阴离子空位.氢化处理法可以在光催化剂晶格中形成高浓度氧空位,并导致纳米材料表面层的晶格混乱.处理后光催化剂的光学吸收拓展到近红外区,电子给体浓度大大提高,促进了电子输运和界面电荷的迁移与分离;然而,可见光区的吸收对增强的光催化活性没有贡献.氧空位还可以作为活性位点吸附和解离反应物,促进电子从催化剂到吸附质间的转移,甚至直接参与到光催化和光化学反应中.富含氧空位的WO_3可以耦合热催化和光催化反应促进CO_2的选择性还原,或者利用近红外光活化分子氧并选择性氧化胺.氮空位是含氮的n型半导体光催化材料的本质属性.石墨氮化碳中的氮空位有助于促进电荷分离,同时可以作为化学吸附位用于选择性吸附,活化和还原氮气,因此富含氮空位的光催化剂在还原含氮化合物方面具有应用潜力.由于卤素原子在层状卤氧化铋的层间以较弱的范德华力存在,该类化合物容易形成卤原子空位.通过热处理碘氧化铋可以获得活性增强的含碘空位化合物.空位的出现导致带隙变宽和价带下移,光生空穴氧化能力提高,从而获得更好的光催化活性.传统的n型半导体光催化剂中难以形成阳离子空位.理论研究表明,含阳离子空位的TiO_2具有一系列优点,包括电子传输性能提高,载流子复合受到抑制等.并且钛空位可以作为表面活性位促进水的吸附和离解,从而提高光解水效率.含钛空位的p型TiO_2可以通过焙烧甘油化的前驱体制备,钛空位的出现使得光解水和催化降解有机物活性均大幅提高.含碳空位的石墨氮化碳不仅表现出增强的光催化活性,同时能够提高氧吸附并促进两电子还原氧气产生H_2O_2的反应过程.铋空位能够有效提高铋基光催化剂BiPO_4和Bi_6S_2O_(15)的活性.二维纳米材料的晶面和厚度可以影响表面空位的组成和浓度.BiOCl纳米片的表面是以铋空位为主,而超薄的BiOCl纳米片则是以铋氧联合空位为主,从而表现更优异的光催化活性.最近研究者在含空位的高性能光催化剂制备以及性能调控规律方面取得了长足进展,今后还将继续发展先进的表征技术,进一步研究空位的调控和稳定化手段,并全面理解空位对光催化反应的影响基本规律.空位工程将在半导体光催化技术中发挥更加重要的作用.     

一步低温法制备可见光响应的棕色纳米TiO2及其光催化性能

光催化作为一种具有前景的技术,被广泛运用于有机物降解、废水处理、空气净化、抗菌、太阳能电池等领域.在众多的光催化材料中,纳米TiO2因具有性质稳定、耐腐蚀、廉价和无毒等优点而受到广泛关注.但纳米TiO2禁带宽度较大(3.2 eV)、只对紫外光有响应及电子-空穴对易复合等特性限制了它的应用.因此,提高纳米TiO2的可见光响应一直是研究的热点.本文发展了一种在低温下制备棕色纳米TiO2的改良溶胶-凝胶法.该法以钛酸四丁酯为钛源,无水乙醇为溶剂,形成溶胶后无需陈化和高温高压,在简单温和的条件下即可制备出棕色纳米TiO2.比较了低温干燥和高温焙烧两种处理方法,结果表明,随着制备温度的升高,样品的粒子尺寸增大,比表面积减小,颜色从白色转变为棕色,在更高的温度又变浅.样品的可见光吸收在180℃时达到最大,随后减弱.在优化温度180℃下制备的TiO2-180℃纳米粒子不仅具有较小的粒径(5.0 nm),较大的比表面积(213.45 m2/g),且在整个紫外-可见光区都具有较强的吸收,其禁带宽度低至1.84 eV.X-射线光电子能谱结果表明,TiO2粒子表面的–OH/H2O含量随制备温度升高而先增加后下降.Raman光谱中Eg峰的移动和变宽表明TiO2晶格可能存在缺陷或氧空位,而TiO2-180℃纳米粒子的电子顺磁共振图谱的g值在2.003左右,对应氧空位中的未成对电子,验证了以上推测.其中TiO2-180℃纳米粒子呈现为最强的EPR信号,表明其晶格内存在最高浓度的氧空位,这是其具有强可见光吸收的原因.光催化实验结果表明,在可见光照射下,TiO2-180℃可高效降解亚甲基蓝(MB).当C(MB)=10 mg/L,pH=4,催化剂添加量为0.07 g时,TiO2-180℃催化剂的光催化活性达到最佳,光照1 h后MB降解率达到99.33%,反应速率常数(0.08287 mg/(L·min))约为同条件下P25(0.01342 mg/(L·min))的6倍.同时,TiO2-180℃催化剂在不同单色光下的光催化活性与它对单色光的光响应大致相符.循环降解实验证明TiO2-180℃催化剂具有很好的稳定性.光猝灭实验表明,·OH在光催化降解过程占主导作用,而TiO2-180℃样品表面含有较多的–OH,有利于·OH的产生,乃至光催化反应.研究表明,晶格内高浓度的氧空位导致的强可见光响应,得益于低温制备条件而保留了大量–OH/H2O的纳米粒子表面以及更大的比表面积,共同促成了TiO2-180℃优越的光催化活性.所制备的棕色纳米TiO2经过进一步修饰后有望运用于实际应用中.     

纳米TiO2识别色氨酸对映体的研究

以纳米TiO2为基底,L-色氨酸(L-Trp)为模板分子,采用溶胶凝胶法合成L-Trp印迹的纳米TiO2。采用扫描电镜和红外光谱对印迹纳米TiO2和非印迹纳米TiO2进行表征,表明模板分子L-Trp成功地印迹到纳米TiO2中。采用1%的氨水溶液去除印迹的纳米TiO2中的模板分子L-Trp,纳米TiO2上留下与L-Trp相匹配的空穴。采用荧光分光光度法研究了具有L-Trp铸型的纳米TiO2对L-Trp和D-色氨酸(D-Trp)的分离效果。实验表明,模板分子L-Trp与钛前驱体的最佳投料摩尔比为1∶0.2,富集溶液pH值为6.0时,印迹纳米TiO2对L-Trp具有优异的选择吸附性,其分离选择系数为2.42,可实现对色氨酸对映体的识别。     

ZnO纳米片组装的微球和层状集聚体的控制合成及其发光性质

通过锌片与水分别在乙二醇和乙二胺中120 ℃反应12 h,直接在锌片上原位合成出ZnO纳米片组装的微球和层状集聚体。利用X射线粉末衍射、扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜和红外光谱对产物进行了表征和分析。结果表明,在乙二醇中得到的直径为0.3～2 µmZnO微球是由直径为30～50 nm纤锌矿结构的ZnO纳米片通过氢键组装而成;在乙二胺中得到的层状集聚体是由20～30 nm的纤锌矿结构的ZnO纳米片通过氢键组装成尺寸约为450×900 nm纳米片,这些较大尺寸纳米片再通过范德华力组装而成。研究了乙二醇和乙二胺在ZnO微球和层状集聚体形成过程中的作用并提出了可能的生长机理。在波长为300 nm光的激发下,发现ZnO微球和层状集聚体具有发光峰位于397 nm强的紫外光发光、485和520 nm弱的蓝绿光发光,它们分别起源于ZnO宽带隙的激子发射,氧空位与间隙氧之间的跃迁以及表面上离子化氧空位中的电子与价带中光激发的空穴之间的复合。     

ZnO和TiO2纳米粒子的光致发光性能及其与光催化活性的关系

采用沉淀法和溶胶-凝胶法制备了ZnO和TiO2及掺Zn2+的TiO2纳米粒子,用XRD和荧光光谱(FS)等手段对样品进行了表征,重点探讨了样品光致发光机制及与光催化活性的关系.结果表明,ZnO和TiO2样品在大于带隙能的光激发下均表现出明显的FS信号,热处理温度升高,FS信号强度下降,并且二者的FS信号类似,这可能与二者具有类似的电子能带结构有关,同时也说明FS信号主要源于表面氧空位以及吸附氧物种等引起的激子或表面态能级.掺杂Zn2+使TiO2纳米粒子FS信号增强,这主要与表面氧空位和缺陷等量增加有关;此外,在光催化氧化苯酚实验中,样品光催化活性与其FS信号强度顺序一致,即FS信号越强,活性越高.这是由于在光致发光过程中,FS信号主要源于表面氧空位,而在光催化反应中,表面氧空位有利于氧化反应进行.     

静电纺丝-碱热法制备高活性由纳米片组装的TiO2纳米纤维（英文）

半导体光催化有望解决日益严峻的环境污染与能源危机,因而得到广泛重视.纳米TiO2因为其强的氧化能力和良好的(光)化学稳定性与生物相容性,成为了最受欢迎的半导体光催化材料.到目前为止,材料科学家们制备了多种形貌的TiO2光催化材料,如纳米棒(线)、纳米片和空心微球等.作为染料太阳能电池的光阳极材料,小颗粒尺寸的纳米TiO2具有大的比表面积,有利于敏化剂的吸附,从而增强太阳能电池的光电转换性能.但是尺寸太小的TiO2颗粒不利于光散射,导致入射的太阳光直接穿透光阳极薄膜而不利于吸收和利用太阳光.为了解决敏化剂吸附和增强光散射这对矛盾,本文设计制备了由纳米片组装的TiO2纳米纤维:(1)首先通过静电纺丝法制备TiO2纳米纤维前躯体;(2)将TiO2纳米纤维前驱体在500°C焙烧,去除有机物,得到晶化度良好的由纳米颗粒组装的TiO2纳米纤维;(3)将TiO2纳米纤维进行NaOH碱热处理,使TiO2纳米颗粒转化成钛酸盐纳米片,然后经历酸洗和焙烧,得到由纳米片组装的TiO2纳米纤维.染料敏化太阳能电池的性能测试结果显示,碱热2.5 h所得TiO2样品的光阳极薄膜的光电转化效率提升了2.3倍;同时,利用丙酮光催化分解的活性来评价纳米纤维的光催化活性,发现碱热2.5 h所得纳米纤维上光催化降解丙酮的活性提升了3.1倍.结构表征结果显示,随着碱热时间的延长,从纤维表面生长出来的纳米片逐渐变长,催化剂的比表面积和孔容不断增加.大的比表面积有利于底物的吸附,纳米片结构有利于增强光散射,通过延长光程增强对光的利用效率,从而提升纳米纤维的光活性.光电流测试的结果显示,与碱热前的TiO2纳米纤维相比,碱热后的TiO2纳米纤维光电流显著增强,这是由于纳米片结构减小了扩散距离,有利于光生载流子快速转移到催化剂表面,引发丙酮的光催化氧化.     

掺杂镧的TiO2纳米粒子的光致发光及其光催化性能

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了纯的和掺杂La的TiO2纳米粒子,并利用XRD,TEM,XPS和荧光光谱(FS)等对样品进行表征,主要考察焙烧温度和La含量对TiO2纳米粒子的性质以及光催化降解苯酚活性的影响,并探讨了La的掺杂对TiO2相变的作用机制以及FS光谱与光催化活性的关系.结果表明,适量La掺杂能够提高TiO2纳米粒子FS光谱强度,这是因为La掺杂能够使表面氧空位和缺陷的浓度增加;600℃热处理的掺杂不同量La的TiO2样品的光催化活性顺序是:1%＞1.5%＞3%＞0.5%＞5%＞0%,这与它们的FS光谱强度的顺序是一致的,即FS光谱强度越高,其光催化活性越高.这是因为在光致发光过程中,FS信号主要来源于表面氧空位和缺陷,而在光催化反应过程中,表面氧空位和缺陷能够有利于光生电子被捕获.     

高介电常数TiO2纳米晶的表面态研究

将钛酸四丁酯和硬脂酸在熔融状态下混合均匀后置于冷水浴中,使其凝固成凝胶,通过控制烧结过程中氧气的含量,成功地制备出粒度均匀、介电性能好的纳米晶TiO2.通过采用X射线光电子能谱和表面光电压谱对纳米晶TiO2表面状态的分析发现,材料表面存在大量的氧空位缺陷,暴露在粒子表面上的主要是一些金属Ti4+.纳米材料的这种表面状态对其极化性质具有重要的影响,使其在接近静态条件下的低频介电常数远大于常规材料的介电常数.     

Plasmonic Nickel–TiO2 Heterostructures for Visible‐Light‐Driven Photochemical Reactions

Plasmon‐mediated carrier transfer (PMCT) at metal–semiconductor heterojunctions has been extensively exploited to drive photochemical reactions, offering intriguing opportunities for solar photocatalysis. However, to date, most studies have been conducted using noble metals. Inexpensive materials capable of generating and transferring hot carriers for photocatalysis via PMCT have been rarely explored. Here, we demonstrate that the plasmon excitation of nickel induces the transfer of both hot electrons and holes from Ni to TiO₂ in a rationally designed Ni–TiO₂ heterostructure. Furthermore, it is discovered that the transferred hot electrons either occupy oxygen vacancies (V_O) or produce Ti³⁺ on TiO₂, while the transferred hot holes are located on surface oxygens at TiO₂. Moreover, the transferred hot electrons are identified to play a primary role in driving the degradation of methylene blue (MB). Taken together, our results validate Ni as a promising low‐cost plasmonic material for prompting visible‐light photochemical reactions.     

Photocatalytic performance of TiO2 nanocrystals with/without oxygen defects

To investigate the role of oxygen defects on the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂, the TiO₂ nanocrystals with/without oxygen defects are successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal and sol-gel methods, respectively. The as-prepared TiO₂ nanocrystals with defects are light blue and the absorption edge of light is towards the visible light region (～420 nm). Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements all confirm that the concentration of oxygen vacancies in the TiO₂ synthesized by the sol-gel method is less than that synthesized through the hydrothermal route. The introduction of oxygen defects contributes to a new state in the band gap that narrows the band gap, which is the reason for the extension of light absorption into the visible light region. The photocurrent results confirm that this band-gap narrowing enhances the photocurrent response under simulated solar light irradiation. The TiO₂ with oxygen defects shows a higher photocatalytic activity for decomposition of a methylene blue solution compared with that of the perfect TiO₂ sample. The photocatalytic mechanism is discussed based on the density functional theory calculations and photoluminescence spectroscopy measurements.     

Sulfur‐Modified Oxygen Vacancies in Iron–Cobalt Oxide Nanosheets: Enabling Extremely High Activity of the Oxygen Evolution Reaction to Achieve the Industrial Water Splitting Benchmark

The oxygen vacancies of defective iron–cobalt oxide (FeCoO_x‐Vo) nanosheets are modified by the homogeneously distributed sulfur (S) atoms. S atoms can not only effectively stabilize oxygen vacancies (Vo), but also form the Co?S coordination with Co active site in the Vo, which can modulate the electronic structure of the active site, enabling FeCoO_x‐Vo‐S to exhibit much superior OER activity. FeCoO_x‐Vo‐S exhibits a mass activity of 2440.0 A g^?1 at 1.5 V vs. RHE in 1.0 m KOH, 25.4 times higher than that of RuO₂. The Tafel slope is as low as 21.0 mV dec^?1, indicative of its excellent charge transfer rate. When FeCoO_x‐Vo‐S (anode catalyst) is paired with the defective CoP₃/Ni₂P (cathode catalyst) for overall water splitting, current densities of as high as 249.0 mA cm^?2 and 406.0 mA cm^?2 at a cell voltage of 2.0 V and 2.3 V, respectively, can be achieved.     

Engineering of SnO2/TiO2 heterojunction compact interface with efficient charge transfer pathway for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Fabricating an efficient charge transfer pathway at the compact interface between two kinds of semiconductors is an important strategy for designing hydrogen production heterojunction photocatalysts. In this work, we prepared a compact, stable and oxygen vacancy-rich photocatalyst (SnO₂/TiO₂ heterostructure) via a simple and reasonable in-situ synthesis method. Briefly, SnCl₂–2H₂O is hydrolyzed on the TiO₂ precursor. After the pyrolysis process, SnO₂ nanoparticles (5 nm) were dispersed on the surface of ultrathin TiO₂ nanosheets uniformly. Herein, the heterojunction system can offer abundant oxygen vacancies, which can act as active sites for catalytic reactions. Meanwhile, the interfacial contact of SnO₂/TiO₂ grading semiconductor oxide is uniform and tight, which can promote the separation and migration of photogenerated carriers. As shown in the experimental results, the hydrogen production rate of SnO₂/TiO₂ is 16.7 mmol h^?1 g^?1 (4.4 times higher than that of TiO₂), which is owing to its good dynamical properties. This work demonstrates an efficient strategy of tight combining SnO₂/TiO₂ with abundant oxygen vacancies to improve catalytic efficiency.     

Defect induced nickel,nitrogen-codoped mesoporous TiO2 microspheres with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity

Nickel, nitrogen-codoped mesoporous TiO₂ microspheres (Ni–N–TiO₂) with high surface area, and an effective direct band gap energy of ∼2.58 eV. Nickel sulfate used as the Ni source and ammonia gas as the N source here. The efficiency of the as-prepared samples was investigated by monitoring the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation. The experimental results indicate that Ni-doped mesoporous TiO₂ microspheres show higher photocatalytic activity than mesoporous TiO₂ microspheres under visible light irradiation. It mainly due to that the electron trap level (Ni²⁺/Ni⁺) promoting the separation of charge carriers and the oxygen vacancies inducing the visible light absorption. In addition, Ni–N–TiO₂ shows enhanced activity compared with Ni–TiO₂. Codopants and dopants are found to be uniformly distributed in TiO₂ matrix. Among the all samples the 0.5% molar quantity of Ni dopant and 500 °C 2 h nitriding condition gives the highest photocatalytic activity. The treatment of ammonia gas on Ni–TiO₂ sample induced oxygen vancancies, substitutional and interstitial N. A suitable treatment by ammonia gas also promote separation of charge carriers and the absorption of visible light. The active species generated in the photocatalytic system were also investigated. The strategy presented here gives a promising route towards the development of a metal and non-metal codoped semiconductor materials for applied photocatalysis and related applications.     

Molten-Salt-Mediated Synthesis of an Atomic Nickel Co-catalyst on TiO2 for Improved Photocatalytic H2 Evolution

Atomic co-catalysts offer high potential to improve the photocatalytic performance, of which the preparation with earth-abundant elements is challenging. Here, a new molten salt method (MSM) is designed to prepare atomic Ni co-catalyst on widely studied TiO₂ nanoparticles. The liquid environment and space confinement effect of the molten salt leads to atomic dispersion of Ni ions on TiO₂, while the strong polarizing force provided by the molten salt promotes formation of strong Ni−O bonds. Interestingly, Ni atoms are found to facilitate the formation of oxygen vacancies (OV) on TiO₂ during the MSM process, which benefits the charge transfer and hydrogen evolution reaction. The synergy of atomic Ni co-catalyst and OV results in 4-time increase in H₂ evolution rate compared to that of the Ni co-catalyst on TiO₂ prepared by an impregnation method. This work provides a new strategy of controlling atomic co-catalyst together with defects for efficient photocatalytic water splitting.     

Highly Efficient Low‐Temperature Plasma‐Assisted Modification of TiO2 Nanosheets with Exposed {001} Facets for Enhanced Visible‐Light Photocatalytic Activity

Anatase TiO₂ nanosheets with exposed {001} facets have been controllably modified under non‐thermal dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma with various working gas, including Ar, H₂, and NH₃. The obtained TiO₂ nanosheets possess a unique crystalline core/amorphous shell structure (TiO₂@TiO_2?x), which exhibit the improved visible and near‐infrared light absorption. The types of dopants (oxygen vacancy/surface Ti³⁺/substituted N) in oxygen‐deficient TiO₂ can be tuned by controlling the working gases during plasma discharge. Both surface Ti³⁺ and substituted N were doped into the lattice of TiO₂ through NH₃ plasma discharge, whereas the oxygen vacancy or Ti³⁺ (along with the oxygen vacancy) was obtained after Ar or H₂ plasma treatment. The TiO₂@TiO_2?x from NH₃ plasma with a green color shows the highest photocatalytic activity under visible‐light irradiation compared with the products from Ar plasma or H₂ plasma due to the synergistic effect of reduction and simultaneous nitridation in the NH₃ plasma.     

Feasible Tuning of Surface OVs on (001) TiO2 for Superior Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation Activity

A feasible tuning method for oxygen vacancies was realized by annealing under 3 atm H₂ with (001)-exposed TiO₂ nanosheets. The colored TiO₂ sample exhibits an excellent N₂ photo-fixation rate owing to the abundant oxygen vacancies (OVs) thus demonstrating that annealing with high pressure H₂ is exceedingly efficient for tuning surface OVs.     

Molten‐Salt‐Mediated Synthesis of an Atomic Nickel Co‐catalyst on TiO2 for Improved Photocatalytic H2 Evolution

Atomic co‐catalysts offer high potential to improve the photocatalytic performance, of which the preparation with earth‐abundant elements is challenging. Here, a new molten salt method (MSM) is designed to prepare atomic Ni co‐catalyst on widely studied TiO₂ nanoparticles. The liquid environment and space confinement effect of the molten salt leads to atomic dispersion of Ni ions on TiO₂, while the strong polarizing force provided by the molten salt promotes formation of strong Ni?O bonds. Interestingly, Ni atoms are found to facilitate the formation of oxygen vacancies (OV) on TiO₂ during the MSM process, which benefits the charge transfer and hydrogen evolution reaction. The synergy of atomic Ni co‐catalyst and OV results in 4‐time increase in H₂ evolution rate compared to that of the Ni co‐catalyst on TiO₂ prepared by an impregnation method. This work provides a new strategy of controlling atomic co‐catalyst together with defects for efficient photocatalytic water splitting.     

Probing the Electronic Structure and Photoactivation Process of Nitrogen‐Doped TiO2 Using DRS,PL, and EPR

The electronic structure and photoactivation process in N‐doped TiO₂ is investigated. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) are employed to monitor the change of optical absorption ability and the formation of N species and defects in the heat‐ and photoinduced N‐doped TiO₂ catalyst. Under thermal treatment below 573 K in vacuum, no nitrogen dopant is removed from the doped samples but oxygen vacancies and Ti³⁺ states are formed to enhance the optical absorption in the visible‐light region, especially at wavelengths above 500 nm with increasing temperature. In the photoactivation processes of N‐doped TiO₂, the DRS absorption and PL emission in the visible spectral region of 450–700 nm increase with prolonged irradiation time. The EPR results reveal that paramagnetic nitrogen species (N_s^.), oxygen vacancies with one electron (V_o^.), and Ti³⁺ ions are produced with light irradiation and the intensity of N_s^. species is dependent on the excitation light wavelength and power. The combined characterization results confirm that the energy level of doped N species is localized above the valence band of TiO₂ corresponding to the main absorption band at 410 nm of N‐doped TiO₂, but oxygen vacancies and Ti³⁺ states as defects contribute to the visible‐light absorption above 500 nm in the overall absorption of the doped samples. Thus, a detailed picture of the electronic structure of N‐doped TiO₂ is proposed and discussed. On the other hand, the transfer of charge carriers between nitrogen species and defects is reversible on the catalyst surface. The presence of oxygen‐vacancy‐related defects leads to quenching of paramagnetic N_s^. species but they stabilize the active nitrogen species N_s^?.