The electronegativity modulation of rutile TiO2 nanorods by phosphate and its photocatalytic hydrogen production performance

In this paper, P O was grafted on the surface of rutile TiO 2 by one-step hydrothermal method . Due to the presence of the highly electronegative oxygen element, the surface of TiO 2 often presented an electron-deficient state, which limited its application in reduction reactions. Herein, the low electronegativity element P from the phosphate was grafted on the surface of TiO 2 to form a P O structure, which changes the electronic equilibrium state of the TiO 2 and provide a new channel for electron migration. The surface of TiO 2 presented an electron-enrich structure, which promoted the best hydrogen production performance around 28 mmol·g −1 ·h −1 on TiO 2 -P-0.01.