Enhanced photocatalytic performance of TiO(2)-ZnO hybrid nanostructures

We studied the photocatalytic properties of rational designed TiO(2)-ZnO hybrid nanostructures, which were fabricated by the site-specific deposition of amorphous TiO(2) on the tips of ZnO nanorods. Compared with the pure components of ZnO nanorods and amorphous TiO(2) nanoparticles, these TiO(2)-ZnO hybrid nanostructures demonstrated a higher catalytic activity. The strong green emission quenching observed from photoluminescence of TiO(2)-ZnO hybrid nanostructures implied an enhanced charge transfer/separation process resulting from the novel type II heterostructures with fine interfaces. The catalytic performance of annealing products with different TiO(2) phase varied with the annealing temperatures. This is attributed to the combinational changes in E(g) of the TiO(2) phase, the specific surface area and the quantity of surface hydroxyl groups.