Engineering triple O-Ti-O vacancy associates for efficient water-activation catalysis

Defect engineering can create various vacancy configurations in catalysts by finely tuning the local electronic and geometric structures of the active sites. However, achieving precise control and identification of these defects remains a significant challenge, and the origin of vacancy configurations in catalysts, especially clustered or associated ones, remains largely unknown. Herein, we successfully achieve the controllable fabrication and quantitative identification of triple O-Ti-O vacancy associate (VOVTiVO) in nanosized Ni-doped TiO2. Experimental and theoretical analyses demonstrate that terminal hydroxyls adsorbed at unsaturated cationic sites play an essential role in boosting VOVTiVO formation,…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 52070168, 22176169
• ZU
  Zhejiang University
• SC
  South China University of Technology
• HN
  Hangzhou Normal University