Hydroxylated SiO2-modified {0 0 1}-TiO2 nanosheets as a surface multifunctional photocatalyst for enhanced degradation of gaseous toluene

The relatively weak activity and serious deactivation of anatase TiO 2 nanosheet catalysts with highly exposed {0   0   1} facets ({0   0   1}-TiO 2 ) limits its wide application in photocatalytic degradation of gaseous pollutants. Herein, we propose a hybrid photocatalyst composed of {0   0   1}-TiO 2 and SiO 2 with numerous hydroxyl groups (denoted as {0   0   1}-TiO 2 /HO-SiO 2 ). The catalyst showed excellent performance for gaseous toluene degradation under UV illumination, with 99.2 % removal efficiency and 204.7 μmol L −1 CO 2 yield (about 85.9 % mineralization efficiency) within 120 min. It also demonstrated superior durability over five consecutive cycles of toluene photodegradation. The modification of HO–SiO 2 on {0   0   1}-TiO 2 facilitate the selective adsorption of toluene on the catalyst surface by H-bonding interaction, and make the major poisoning species, benzoic acid, easily desorb from the surface, reducing the catalyst inactivation. Most importantly, we found that the formed Ti O Si bond promotes the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, and provides abundant available electrons for the formation of reactive oxygen radicals and the left holes for the conversion of toluene to benzyl radicals or oxidation of H 2 O to hydroxyl radicals, which results in the improved activity. This study highlights the importance of the introduction of secondary components with special functions on TiO 2 , which is helpful for the design of photocatalysts with high performance and anti-deactivation ability for treatment of volatile organic compounds.