An effective strategy for improving charge separation efficiency and photocatalytic degradation performance using a facilely synthesized oxidative TiO2 catalyst

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) has attracted enormous interest in abundant photocatalytic reactions, but its photocatalytic efficiency is limited by its wide bandgap and the rapid recombination of electron–hole pairs. To overcome the disadvantages of its rapid electron–hole recombination rate, herein, oxidative TiO₂ was one-step fabricated using potassium permanganate (KMnO₄), exhibiting improved charge separation efficiency and photocatalytic degradation performance towards methyl orange (MO). Remarkably, the first-order photodegradation rate of oxidative TiO₂ is 3.68 times higher than that of pristine TiO₂ under the irradiation of simulated sunlight and 2.15 times higher under ultraviolet light. This exceptional photocatalytic activity is attributed to the additional oxygen doped into the interstices of the TiO₂ lattice, creating impurity states in the bandgap acting as trapping sites, thus facilitating charge separation. This work provides a promising strategy for the insertion of O atoms into the TiO₂ lattice and expands the photocatalytic application of the related materials.