The Controlled Synthesis of Flower-Like TiO₂ Nanosheets with Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance

Exploring inorganic flower-like nanosheets is of increasing interest not only for fundamental research, but also for development of devices due to their good chemical stability, versatility, and high surface-to-volume ratio. In this work, flower-like TiO₂ nanosheets (FTN) are successfully synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. Notably, a series of single-factor experiments are carried out to drive multiple functional components in order to integrate into a single flower-like nanostructure perfectly. In addition, these experimental results further reveal that alcohol/glycerol molar ratio acts in a vital role for preparing optimal flower-like morphology and structure of TiO₂. Furthermore, the photodegradation pathways and mechanism of Levofloxacin (LVOF) by FTN are shown according to photodegradation intermediates of LVOF, trapping experiments, and ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) sensitizing effect. Therefore, the present work not only demonstrates the controlled synthesis of flower-like TiO₂ nanosheets, but also provides a guide for constructing other inorganic flower-like nanosheets or TiO₂-based photocatalysts with optimal morphology, structure and photocatalytic performance.