Effect of Single-Atom Cocatalysts on the Activity of Faceted TiO2 Photocatalysts.

The synergetic contribution of crystal facets and atomic cocatalysts toward the photoactivity of TiO2 was fundamentally investigated. Atomic-level dispersed Pt and Au were deposited onto 001-faceted and 101-faceted TiO2, separately. When used as photocatalysts for photocatalytic H2 production, Pt/TiO2-001 showed 1156 and 3 times higher H2 evolution rate than that of cocatalyst-free TiO2-001 and Pt-cocatalyzed TiO2-101. The significantly improved photocatalytic performance was attributed to the efficient separation of high-energy electrons and the sufficient exposure of reactive sites. This study demonstrates a promising way to design single-atom-assisted photocatalysts for high-efficiency water splitting.