Synergy of Bulk Defects and Surface Defects on TiO2 for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Production of H2O2

Cong Fu; Lingfang Liu; Zhaorui Li; Yaxiong Wei; Weixin Huang; Xiaojun Zhang

doi:10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c01865

Synergy of Bulk Defects and Surface Defects on TiO₂ for Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Production of H₂O₂

J Phys Chem Lett. 2023 Aug 31;14(34):7690-7696. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c01865. Epub 2023 Aug 22.

Authors

Cong Fu¹, Lingfang Liu¹, Zhaorui Li², Yaxiong Wei³, Weixin Huang², Xiaojun Zhang¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Functional Molecular Solids Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, P. R. China.
² Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry and Energy Catalysis of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, and Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, P. R. China.
³ Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Optoelectric Materials Science and Technology, School of Physics and Electronic Information, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, P. R. China.

PMID: 37606254
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c01865

Abstract

Artificial photosynthesis of H₂O₂ by TiO₂-based semiconductors is a promising approach for H₂O₂ production. However, the efficiency of pristine TiO₂ is still limited by rapid charge separation and low O₂ adsorption capacity. Here, we found that the synergy between bulk and surface defects on TiO₂ could overcome this demanding bottleneck. The introduced bulk defects act as hole acceptors to induce directional hole transfer, efficiently boosting electron-hole separation. Furthermore, the adsorption of O₂ is strengthened by the introduced surface defects. Consequently, this synergy of bulk and surface defects on TiO₂ significantly improves the photocatalytic performance, with a H₂O₂ production rate of 4560 μmol h^-1 g^-1, outperforming most reported TiO₂-based photocatalysts. This work not only provides a new insight into the mechanism of surface/bulk defects in photocatalysis but also highlights that surface/bulk regulation holds great promise for achiveing efficient photocatalytic conversion.