The effect of surface electronic structures of Au/TiO 2 on sonophotochemical reactions

Sonophotocatalysis combines ultrasonic and light irradiations to drastically boost the chemical reaction rate and has attracted many interests for its potential applications in the environmental remediation and protection. However, it still remains unclear whether the light irradiation could couple with the ultrasound to prompt the sonophotocatalytic process. Here, we selectively excited the TiO2 and Au to manipulate the electronic structures of Au/TiO2 and studied their influence in sonophotocatalytic water (H2O) reduction. Surprisingly, no significant increase of the hydrogen (H2) production rate was observed under either the UV light irradiation or the visible light irradiation, suggesting that the change in electronic structures of Au/TiO2 does not prompt the generation of free radicals under sonication and the reaction is dominated by the recovery of active sites through ultrasound. Our findings established an in-depth understanding of the origin of the enhanced catalytic activity in sonophotocatalysis.