One-pot synthesis of N-F-Cr-doped anatase TiO2 microspheres with nearly all-(001) surface for enhanced solar absorption

The synthesis and clarifications in structure-property relationship for anatase TiO2 crystals exposing (001) facets have attracted much attention. In this paper, a novel titania microsphere with nearly all-(001) surface was synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of a thermal sprayed TiN/Ti coating with HF aqueous solution containing chromium powders. Unlike the conventional (001)-facet exposed anatase crystals, which are highly truncated bipyramids, the crystal achieved in the current investigation is drum-like with a round cross section. The formation of the drum-like crystals was contributed to a balance between the erosion and precipitation of anatase single crystallites. The Cr-doping in anatase was believed to increase the surface deficiency which enhanced the erosion procedure, leading to the drum-like crystals. The XPS analysis confirmed the incorporations of N, F and Cr in the microsized anatase crystals through the one-pot reaction, which led to a significantly enhanced solar absorption. The UV-Vis diffuse reflectance revealed a band-to-band red-shift of the band gap of the anatase crystals to 1.60 eV, which is contributed mainly to the homogeneous Cr-doping.