Rutile Ru_xTi_1-xO₂ nanobelts to enhance visible light photocatalytic activity

We herein report on the synthesis by a facile sol-gel method without templates for preparing rutile Ru_xTi_1-xO₂ (x = 0.16; 0.07; 0.01) nanobelts with exposed (001) facets. The rutile nanobelts with exposure (001) facets, favor the separation photogenerated electron-hole pairs and inhibit the recombination of the electron-hole pairs resulting in the increase of the number of main superoxide and hydroxyl radicals. The photocatalytic properties of the rutile Ru_xTi_1-xO₂ nanobelts were evaluated by discoloring of MB (methylene blue) dye under sunlight irradiation at an intensity of 40000 lx. It was also done a thorough interface analysis to determine the band energy.