Solvothermally Synthesized Hierarchical Aggregates of Anatase TiO 2 Nanoribbons/Nanosheets and Their Photocatalytic-Photocurrent Activities

• Published in: Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-06, Vol.13 (13)
• Main Authors: Al-Attafi, Kadhim, Mezher, Hamza A, Hammadi, Ali Faraj, Al-Keisy, Amar, Hamzawy, Sameh, Qutaish, Hamzeh, Kim, Jung Ho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2079-4991; 2079-4991

Hierarchical aggregates of anatase TiO nanoribbons/nanosheets (TiO -NR) and anatase TiO nanoparticles (TiO -NP) were produced through a one-step solvothermal reaction using acetic acid or ethanol and titanium isopropoxide as solvothermal reaction systems. The crystalline structure, crystalline phase, and morphologies of synthesized materials were characterized using several techniques. According to our findings, both TiO -NR and TiO -NP were found to have polycrystalline structures, with pure anatase phases. TiO -NR has a three-dimensional hierarchical structure made up of aggregates of TiO nanoribbons/nanosheets, while TiO -NP has a nanoparticulate structure. The photocatalytic and photocurrent activities for TiO -NR and TiO -NP were investigated and compared with the widely used commercial TiO (P25), which consists of anatase/rutile TiO nanoparticles, as a reference material. Our findings showed that TiO -NR has higher photocatalytic and photocurrent performance than TiO -NP, which are both, in turn, higher than those of P25. Our developed solvothermal method was shown to produce a pure anatase TiO phase for both synthesized structures, without using any surfactants or any other assisted templates. This developed solvothermal approach, and its anatase TiO nanostructure output, has promising potential for a wide range of energy harvesting applications, such as water pollution treatment and solar cells.