Laser-Modified Black Titanium Oxide Nanospheres and Their Photocatalytic Activities under Visible Light

A facile pulse laser ablation approach for preparing black titanium oxide nanospheres, which could be used as photocatalysts under visible light, is proposed. The black titanium oxide nanospheres are prepared by pulsed-laser irradiation of pure titanium oxide in suspended aqueous solution. The crystalline phases, morphology, and optical properties of the obtained nanospheres are characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. It is shown that high-energy laser ablation of titanium oxide suspended solution benefited the formation of Ti(3+) species and surface disorder on the surface of the titanium oxide nanospheres. The laser-modified black titanium oxide nanospheres could absorb the full spectrum of visible light, thus exhibiting good photocatalytic performance under visible light.