TiO2 (B) nanosheets mediate phase selective synthesis of TiO2 nanostructured photocatalyst

Abstract Phase selective synthesis is particularly valuable in revealing performance of photocatalyst existing as several polymorphic phases. In this work, we develop a general soft chemical route that used a TiO 2 (B) nanosheet as a precursor to synthesize TiO 2 nanostructures of desired phase. Benefiting from the structural similarity and ultrathin thickness feature, TiO 2 (B) nanosheet precursor can readily transform to pure phase of anatase, rutile and brookite as well as mixed phase of brookite/anatase. A possible dissolution-recrystallization mechanism is proposed for the phase transition of TiO 2 (B) nanosheets to other phases. Photocatalytic activity tests demonstrated that the brookite/anatase mixture had the highest activity in degrading acetaldehyde under UV light irradiation, due to the synergistic effect of high crystallinity, large surface area and mixed phase structure.