In Situ l -Hydroxyproline Functionalization and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2Nanorods

In this study, l -hydroxyproline-functionalized anatase TiO 2 nanorods were prepared by a nonaqueous sol−gel route at 80 °C. The resulting samples were characterized by XRD, TEM, HRTEM, XPS, nitrogen adsorption, and UV−vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The presence of l -hydroxyproline on the TiO 2 surface was confirmed by the analysis of FT-IR and 13 C NMR. It was found that the functionalization of l -hydroxyproline could significantly enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 on the degradation of rhodamine B in aqueous solution under simulated solar light. The reasons for photocatalytic activity enhancement were analyzed on the basis of characterizations. This study provides an alternative functionalization method to improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 . Meanwhile, the modification of l -hydroxyproline on TiO 2 is expected to find new applications in fields of organic catalysis, foodstuffs, cosmetics, and so on.