Ethanol-quenching modified the surface environment of titanium dioxide for visible light-assisted hydrogen production†
Abstract
There are numerous approaches for modifying the surface structure of titanium dioxide (TiO2) crystals. We report a conceptually different approach to modify TiO2 crystals by ethanol-quenching. The TiO2 nanocrystals are heated to a high temperature (700 °C) and immediately quenched by submersion in alcohol. The visible light-assisted hydrogen production of TiO2 is significantly enhanced.