A rutile TiO2 nanobundle as a precursor of an efficient visible-light photocatalyst embedded with Fe2O3

Abstract

Because rutile TiO₂ has a potential application of its effective utilization of indoor illumination in photocatalytic environmental purification, effort has been devoted to synthesizing advanced rutile materials. Herein, we report a rare rutile nanostructure, a rutile nanobundle, synthesised via a layered titanate conversion through a simple dilute HCl treatment and drying at room temperature. This rutile nanobundle shows visible light-responsive photocatalytic activity toward the oxidative decomposition of formic acid in water significantly higher than those of a commercial rutile and anatase-based benchmark TiO₂ (P25). The rutile nanobundle, moreover, can be used as a precursor in the synthesis of a mesoporous rutile embedded with a homogeneous distribution of tiny α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles. The α-Fe₂O₃-embedded rutile shows superior photocatalytic activity that is up to 3 times higher than a pristine rutile nanobundle and even comparable to a more costly state-of-the-art visible light-responsive photocatalyst, Au nanoparticle-supported P25.