Hydrothermal crystallization of nano‐titanium dioxide for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen generation

Abstract

Perfect crystallization of active sites in supported TiO₂ photocatalysts is still a challenge. In this work, we report a new photocatalyst design by the unique combination of nanomaterial morphology and an active site crystallization procedure. This yielded nano-TiO₂ based photocatalysts with one of the highest reported photocatalytic hydrogen yields. Hydrothermal crystallization of amorphous TiO₂ sites was found to be key step to generate highly active TiO₂ sites which in turn improved their catalytic activities significantly. These catalysts were then sensitized by CdSe quantum dots to achieve visible-light-active photocatalytic hydrogen generation.