Investigation of facets-dependent photoactivity of anatase TiO2 nanobelt with high percentage of {100} facets

Abstract

Recently, semiconductor nanomaterials with exposed high percentage of reactive facets have attracted great attention due to their excellent photocatalytic performances. In this report, anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanobelts with dominant {100} facets were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The percentage of desired {100} facets were as high as up to 74.8%, and the photoactivity of anatase TiO2 {100} and {001} facets were evaluated and compared by methylene blue and rhodamine B photodegradation. The {100} facets show higher photocatalytic activity than {001} facets, which could be ascribed to the superior electronic band structure and higher surface active sites density of {100} facets than that of {001} facets.