Improving carbon coated TiO2 films with a TiCl4 treatment for photocatalytic water purification

摘要: By using a simple thermal decomposition route, carbon‐TiO2 hybrid films have been synthesized from a catechol‐TiO2 surface complex. The coated films display enhanced visible region absorption, owing to the thin (≈ 2 nm) layer of carbon encapsulating the TiO2. Although photocatalytically active under visible light alone, it is demonstrated that the activity of the carbon‐coated films can be improved further by a hydrolytic treatment with TiCl4, leading to the introduction of small TiO2 particles (5–10 nm) and doping of chlorine into the …