Efficient interfacial solar driven water evaporation and photocatalytic pollutant degradation by partially oxidized TiH1.924/TiO2 nanosheet.

Interfacial solar driven water evaporation (ISDWE) and photocatalytic pollutant degradation (PPD) have been considered as efficient and green technologies for tackling the water crisis. Here, through hydrothermal treatment of TiH 1.924 /Ti powders, we designed a hybrid material composed of partially oxidized TiH 1.924 and TiO 2 nanosheets with outstanding ISDWE and PPD performances. Titanium suboxides can be formed inside the compound of partially oxidized TiH 1·924 /TiO 2 nanosheet, and induce efficient solar-thermal transformation. Meanwhile, TiO 2 nanosheet is conducive to reducing the water vaporization enthalpy, ensuring adequate water supply, and enlarging the surface area for evaporation. Due to the synergies between partially oxidized TiH 1.924 and TiO 2 nanosheet, the water evaporation rate achieved 1.70 kg m−2•h−1 under solar radiation of 1.0 kW m−2, which is higher than most reported titanium compounds. The investigation on the PPD performance showed that the photothermal effect and band alignment collaboratively improved the photodegradation of rhodamine B by partially oxidized TiH 1·924 /TiO 2 nanosheets. The excellent PPD property can promote the long-term ISDWE application of partially oxidized TiH 1·924 /TiO 2 nanosheets by avoiding the dye accumulation. This study may provide valuable information for developing advanced composites, ISDWE and PPD technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]