title: TiO2 /Cu2 O Core/Ultrathin Shell Nanorods as Efficient and Stable Photocatalysts for Water Reduction.
abstract: P-type Cu2 O has been long considered as an attractive photocatalyst for photocatalytic water reduction, but few successful examples has been reported. Here, we report the synthesis of TiO2 (core)/Cu2 O (ultrathin film shell) nanorods by a redox reaction between Cu(2+) and in-situ generated Ti(3+) when Cu(2+) -exchanged H-titanate nanotubes are calcined in air. Owing to the strong TiO2 -Cu2 O interfacial interaction, TiO2 (core)/Cu2 O (ultrathin film shell) nanorods are highly active and stable in photocatalytic water reduction. The TiO2 core and Cu2 O ultrathin film shell respectively act as the photosensitizer and cocatalyst, and both the photoexcited electrons in the conduction band and the holes in the valence band of TiO2 respectively transfer to the conduction band and valence band of the Cu2 O ultrathin film shell. Our results unambiguously show that Cu2 O itself can act as the highly active and stable cocatalyst for photocatalytic water reduction.
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, CAS Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (P.R. China).
authors.forename: Yuanxu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Catalysis and Materials Division, Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016 (P.R. China).
authors.forename: Bingsen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, CAS Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (P.R. China).
authors.forename: Liangfeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009 (P.R. China).
authors.forename: Xuanye
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, CAS Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (P.R. China).
authors.forename: Zhonglei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, CAS Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (P.R. China).
authors.forename: Erlong
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Catalysis and Materials Division, Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016 (P.R. China).
authors.forename: Dangsheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, CAS Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (P.R. China). huangwx@ustc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Weixin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: Cu2O thin films; core-shell structures; interfaces; photocatalysis; redox reaction