Synthesis of Titania nanotubes and Titania nanowires by combination sonication-hydrothermal treatment and their photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production

Titania nanotubes (TiO₂ NT) and Titania nanowires (TiO₂ NW) were fabricated using TiO₂ Degussa P25 (TiO₂ P25) nanoparticle as precursors via a sonication-hydrothermal combination approach. The prepared catalysts were characterized by means of an X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), ultravioletvisible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller technique (BET). The photocatalytic activity of prepared catalysts was evaluated for photocatalytic H₂ evolution from an aqueous methanol solution. The results showed that activity of the catalyst not only depends on the morphology of its catalysts, but also on the crystalinity and surface area. Hydrogen production of TiO₂ NT was about three times higher than TiO₂ P25 and TiO₂ NW was two times higher than TiO₂P25.