The coupling of two semiconducting materials is an efficient method to improve photocatalytic activity via the suppression of recombination of electron-hole pairs. In particular, the coupling between two different phases of TiO₂, i.e., anatase and rutile, is particularly attractive for photocatalytic activity improvement of rutile TiO₂ because these coupled TiO₂ powders can retain the benefits of TiO₂, one of the best photocatalysts. In this study, anatase TiO₂ nanoparticles are synthesized and coupled on the surface of rutile TiO₂ powders using a microemulsion method and heat treatment. Triton X-100, as a surfactant, is used to suppress the aggregation of anatase TiO₂ nanoparticles and disperse anatase TiO₂ nanoparticles uniformly on the surface of rutile TiO₂ powders. Rutile TiO₂ powders coupled with anatase TiO₂ nanoparticles are successfully prepared. Additionally, we compare the photocatalytic activity of these rutile-anatase coupled TiO₂ powders under ultraviolet (UV) light and demonstrate that the reason for the improvement of photocatalytic activity is microstructural.

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