Hollow Anatase TiO2 Octahedrons with Exposed High-Index {102} Facets for Improved Dye-Sensitized Photoredox Catalysis Activity

The high activity of exposed facets and large surface area have significant effects on the performance of photocatalysts because most of the photoreactivity properties of materials are related to surface processes. The strategy of combining high-index facets and a hollow structure into one material will provide a new way for designing effective photocatalysts, possessing active exposed facets and a large surface area at the same time. However, fabricating one material with both high-index facets and a hollow structure is still a great challenge due to their thermodynamic instability. Here, hollow anatase TiO2 octahedrons exposed with high-index (102) facets (HTO-102) were successfully fabricated for the first time by a facile hydrothermal method using HF and H2O2 as morphology controlling agents. Compared with two other catalysts (a solid sharp octahedron with (101) facets (SSO-101) and a hollow sharp octahedron with (101) facets (HSO-101)), HTO-102 particles exhibit a better photochemical activity for the selective aerobic oxidation of organic sulfides under visible-light irradiation. Experimental results and theoretical calculations indicate that the excellent photocatalytic activity of HTO-102 particles is mainly due to the synergistic effects of its hollow structure and exposed high-index (102) facets.