Synthesis of shape-controlled mesoporous titanium phosphate nanocrystals: The hexagonal titanium phosphate with enhanced hydrogen generation from water splitting

A versatile one-step method is developed for the fabrication of shape-controlled mesoporous titanium phosphate with different crystal structures. The drastic morphological change of mesoporous titanium phosphate from fibrous shape to near hexagonal shape is obtained by simply adjusting the concentration of phosphoric acid. Unexpectedly, it is discovered for the first time that hexagonal titanium phosphate is capable of enhanced hydrogen evolution from solar water splitting. Based on our in-depth mechanistic analysis, the enhanced performance of this material is attributed to its abundant hydroxyl groups, 2-D layered structure, large specific surface area and amounts of exchangeable protons. This encouraging result discovers a new heterogeneous catalyst for hydrogen production from water splitting and could open up a new direction in 2-D nanostructured photocatalysts.