Nanowhiskers of K2Ti6O13 as a promoter of photocatalysis in anatase mesocrystals

Alexey A. Sadovnikov*, Alexey V. Garshev, Andrei A. Eliseev, Artemii N. Beltiukov, Evgeny R. Naranov, W. Li, Andrew J. Sutherland, Olga V. Boytsova

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Here we describe the development of a new mesocrytalline anatase-based photocatalyst with an activity nearly double that of the commercial Evonik Aeroxide® TiO2 P25 catalyst. An extensive characterization of this new catalytic material with XRD, TEM, SAED, EELS, SEM, RAMAN and XPS shows that its activity is promoted by its hybrid structure comprising mesocrystalline anatase and K2Ti6O13 whiskers formed within the TiO2 mesocrystals. This new and unexpected component is formed in situ within the TiO2 mesocrystalline framework at a surprisingly low temperature of 500 °C as a result of potassium diffusion from polymer-matrix phase. The growth of whiskers occurs at the 001 TiO2 planes of mesocrystals and their sizes attain 60 nm in a section and a few μm in length.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)133-139
Number of pages7
JournalCatalysis Today
Volume378
Early online date12 Jan 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Oct 2021

Bibliographical note

© 2021, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Funding Information:
The work was financially supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project No18-73-10212). This study was performed using the equipment of the JRC PMR IGIC RAS and of the Shared Use Centre “Centre of Physical and Physicochemical Methods of Analysis and Study of the Properties and Surface Characteristics of Nanostructures, Materials, and Products” UdmFRC UB RAS". X-ray diffraction analysis and N 2 adsorption of materials were partially carried out with support the TIPS RAS state assignment.

Keywords

  • Composites
  • Hybrid photocatalyst
  • KTiO whiskers
  • TiO mesocrystals

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