A strategy for in-situ synthesis of well-defined core-shell AuatTiO₂ hollow spheres for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

This work reports a simple strategy to prepare AuatTiO₂ core-shell hollow spheres with well-defined morphology by combining an in-situ hydrothermal reduction technique with the adsorption of Ti⁴⁺ ions onto carbon spheres via a hard template strategy. H₂ evolution measurements suggest that the prepared AuatTiO₂-2 (2.0wt%) hollow spheres exhibited remarkable H₂ evolution activity (7 times) compared to Au-P25 under ultra violet irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic efficiencies are attributed to the large surface area of AuaTiO₂, with the encapsulated Au NPs acting as co-catalyst. In addition, an enhanced surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) effect by the Au NPs resulted in better light absorption of the hollow structure. This synthesis strategy can also be extended to other types of core-shell hollow composites (PtatTiO₂ and AuatFe₂O₃). This would open a new avenue for the development of well-defined core-shell hollow structures for various applications, including hydrogen generation.