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The Controlled Synthesis of Flower-Like TiO2 Nanosheets with Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance

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Abstract

Exploring inorganic flower-like nanosheets is of increasing interest not only for fundamental research, but also for development of devices due to their good chemical stability, versatility, and high surface-to-volume ratio. In this work, flower-like TiO2 nanosheets (FTN) are successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. Notably, a series of single-factor experiments are carried out to drive multiple functional components in order to integrate into a single flower-like nanostructure perfectly. In addition, these experimental results further reveal that alcohol/glycerol molar ratio acts in a vital role for preparing optimal flower-like morphology and structure of TiO2. Furthermore, the photodegradation pathways and mechanism of Levofloxacin (LVOF) by FTN are shown according to photodegradation intermediates of LVOF, trap** experiments, and ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) sensitizing effect. Therefore, the present work not only demonstrates the controlled synthesis of flower-like TiO2 nanosheets, but also provides a guide for constructing other inorganic flower-like nanosheets or TiO2-based photocatalysts with optimal morphology, structure and photocatalytic performance.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21876069). The authors also thank the financial support provided by 2022 Fuyang normal university provincial and ministerial scientific research platform open project (FSKFKT013D) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China

    Qing Li, **nyang Xu, Zhengliang Yin, Feng Ma & Shunsheng Cao

  2. School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China

    Juanrong Chen

  3. Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory for Degradation and Monitoring of Pollution of the Environment, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, 236037, China

    Ying Zhang & Shunsheng Cao

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  1. Qing Li
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  2. **nyang Xu
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Contributions

Conceptualization, J. R. Chen and S. Cao; data curation, Q. Li, X. Xu, F. Ma, and Y. Zhang; writing—review and editing, J. R. Chen and S. Cao; supervision, Z. Yin, and S. Cao; project administration, S. Cao.

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Correspondence to Juanrong Chen or Shunsheng Cao.

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Li, Q., Xu, X., Chen, J. et al. The Controlled Synthesis of Flower-Like TiO2 Nanosheets with Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance. J Clust Sci 35, 1507–1520 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10876-024-02599-9

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