LAUSR

Abstract Ti3+-doped titania has attracted great attention in recent years by its enhanced photocatalytic performance as compared to the conventional titania systems. In this work, solvothermally reduced hydroxy graphene (RHG), derived from fluorographite (FGT), is used to reduce commercially available P25 titania to produce Ti3+-doped, TiO2-x/RHG nanocomposites, via a facile solid-state route. These nanohybrids exhibit high performance towards photocatalytic hydrogen generation under broad-band irradiation, with a 3497 μmol/g/h hydrogen production rate, without the assistance of any noble metal co-catalyst. This enhanced rate can be attributed to the surface defects generated by Ti3+-doping as well as the ability of RHG to perform as a highly efficient scavenger for the photogenerated electrons. It is hypothesized that RHG could serve as one of the most suitable co-catalysts for the semiconductor-based photocatalysts.