Interesting molecular adsorption strategy induced surface charge redistribution of commercial TiO2: Boosting 9 times photocatalytic hydrogen production performance.

A simple mechanical grinding method was used to adsorb aniline organic molecules on the surface of TiO 2. The reduction capacity of the photocatalyst and the amount of surface charge increase simultaneously. [Display omitted] • At room temperature, simple mechanical grinding was used to successfully adsorb organic aniline molecules on the surface of TiO 2. • After aniline was adsorbed, the photoreduction capacity of TiO 2 and the amount of surface charge increased synchronously. • The preparation method is simple, without precious metal additives, and the raw materials are abundant and easy to obtain. • Improved photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of commercial P25 with the help of a simple molecular adsorption strategy. The work explains the mechanism of photocatalytic performance enhancement and contributes to a better understanding of the process of photolytic hydrogen precipitation from molecularly modified nanomaterials. A higher conduction band position and more photogenerated electrons are distinctly important for the high-efficiency photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance. However, raising conduction band position will enlarge the band gap and reduce the production of photogenerated electrons. Herein, a super simple and efficient ammonia molecular adsorption strategy was proposed and designed to promote efficient hydrogen production by a simple ammonia molecules adsorption on commercial TiO 2 surface. The experimental and theoretical calculation results indicated that aniline can be successfully adsorbed on TiO 2 surface by a straightforward mechanical grinding method, and the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of TiO 2 can be improved by more than 9 times after the adsorption of aniline. This is because the adsorbed aniline can provide electrons to the TiO 2 surface and lead to a charge redistribution and accumulation on the surface of TiO 2. Excessive electrons make the conduction band of TiO 2 bend upward, thus improving the photogenerated electron reduction ability and the photocatalytic performance of TiO 2. In addition, the adsorption of aniline enables TiO 2 to show light absorption in the visible region, generating more photogenerated electrons to participate in the photocatalytic water splitting reaction. In this work, the molecular adsorption strategy is not only simple to operate, but also can improve the photoreduction ability and surface charge quantity of materials. It provides a simple and efficient new method for photocatalyst modification in addition to the traditional modification methods such as doping compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]