Visible photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical activities of TiO nanobelts modified by InO nanoparticles.

Novel InO nanoparticle/TiO nanobelt heterostructures with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance were successfully prepared via a facile hydrothermal method. Well-dispersed InO nanoparticles with small sizes are uniformly attached on the surface of TiO nanobelts to form InO nanoparticle/TiO nanobelt heterostructures. The TiO nanobelts as backbones restrict the aggregation of InO nanoparticles, resulting in the formation of smaller InO nanoparticles with more interaction sites for pollutants. The visible photocatalytic activity of as-prepared heterostructures for degradation of methyl blue (MB) is higher than those of TiO nanobelts and InO nanoparticles alone. Moreover, the InO nanoparticle/TiO nanobelt heterostructure shows an enhanced PEC performance under irradiation of visible light. The enhanced photocatalytic and PEC activities are mainly ascribed to the synergic effect of efficient charge separation of heterostructure, visible-light harvesting ability of InO, and the formation of preferential adsorption sites by the small size of InO nanoparticles. Finally, based on the experimental results of Mott-Schottky, UV-vis DRS, photocurrent and open-circuit voltage response, a possible photocatalytic mechanism over the InO nanoparticle/TiO nanobelt heterostructure is proposed.