Fabrication and photocatalytic activity of reduced dendritic fibrous nanotitania

Titania (TiO2), thanks to its own advantages (non-toxicity, low cost, strong optical absorption, and high chemical stability), has been intensively investigated over the past decades. Although TiO2 is an effective photocatalytic material, it relies on UV absorption for the activity, which limits its application. To improve light absorption and photocatalytic performance, dendritic fibrous nanotitania (DFNT), and its reduced form (R-DFNT) using sodium borohydride under a N2 atmosphere were fabricated. The synthesized nanotitania structures were finely tuned. The optimized R-DFNT possesses a dendritic fibrous morphology with pointed tips inherited from its precursor, resulting in a high surface area and abundant porosity. Moreover, the R-DFNT can absorb light in the ultraviolet-visible-infrared region due to the high contents of Ti3+ and oxygen vacancy. Consequently, R-DFNT exhibits remarkable photocatalytic activity for tetracycline degradation with an exceptionally high reaction rate constant of 15.4 x 10-3 min-1. The outstanding activity of R-DFNT is attributed to their unique morphology and electronic structure, and use of a broad spectrum of solar radiation.