title: Hydrothermal growth of nanometer- to micrometer-size anatase single crystals with exposed (001) facets and their ability to assist photodegradation of rhodamine B in water.
abstract: Anatase single crystals with exposed (001) facets have been the focus of many researches in recent years. This paper reports the hydrothermal synthesis of (001)-exposed anatase single crystals through reactions of Ti plates in aqueous HF solutions with mass concentrations of 0.15-0.80%, in an autoclave at 180°C for 2-12h. The size of the achieved anatase single crystals varied from 0.4 to 13.6 μm, exposing 15-49% (001) facets. The crystal size and the (001) fraction increased with increasing HF concentrations. For a prolonged reaction time, anatase crystals with larger sizes and reduced fractions of (001) facets were achieved. The activity of the anatase crystals to assist photodegradation of rhodamine B in water increased with decreasing sizes and increasing fractions of (001) facets. Selective erosion of the anatase single crystals along the high-energy (001) facets was noted, for the first time, which resulted in cone-shaped walls with a thickness ranging from several to hundreds of nanometers. The selective erosion contributed to the photocatalytic activity of the (001)-exposed anatase single crystals.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Zheda Road 38#, Hangzhou 310027, PR China. msewjm@zju.edu.cn
authors.forename: Jin-Ming
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Mei-Lan
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D010782:Photolysis; D012235:Rhodamines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects*; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D012235:Rhodamines; D014867:Water; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium; C029773:rhodamine B