Ti3+-doped TiO2(B)/anatase spheres prepared using thioglycolic acid towards super photocatalysis performance

A high efficiency photocatalyst , TiO 2 (B)/anatase spheres consisted of nanosheets were prepared. Thioglycolic acid (TGA) was added into the precursor to control the hydrolysis process of titanium source (TiCl 3 ), which is a key to adjust the microstructure of products. The results indicated that TGA-modified samples revealed enhanced photocatalysis performance compared with the one without TGA. The photocatalysis performance of TGA-modified sample is about 15 times high compared with commercial P25. This is ascribed to mixed crystal phase and lattice distortion which resulted in more activity sites (e.g. Ti 3+ and oxygen defects). The loading of Au nanoparticles in different ways confirms that rich Ti 3+ -oxygen vacancies on the surface of samples caused super photocatalytic performance.