Photocatalytic activity of shock-treated TiO2 powder

Metal oxide catalyst TiO2 samples treated by shock wave were used as photocatalysts in the dehydrogenation of H2S. Compared to the unshocked sample, the treated samples exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity (increased by a factor of 2–3) within the experimental range of 16–34 GPa. Based on X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-vis diffuse reflection spectra, the enhancement of the photocatalytic activity may be attributed to the higher density of residual stress, defect dislocations of the crystallites, and the degradation of energy gap in the shock-treated TiO2 samples.