Acta Physica Sinica, Volume. 69, Issue 16, 166301-1(2020)

Study on the electronic structure and photocatalytic properties of a novel monolayer TiO2

Zi-Qian Xiong1, Peng-Cheng Zhang1, Wen-Bin Kang1,2、*, and Wen-Yu Fang1、*
Author Affiliations
  • 1Public Health and Management School, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan 442000, China
  • 2Hubei Biomedical Detection Sharing Platform in Water Source Area of South to North Water Diversion Project, Shiyan 442000, China
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    By means of state-of-the-art density functional theory (DFT) computations, We designed a new two-dimensional material TiO2. We further investigated the stability, electronic structure, carrier mobility, and optical properties of monolayer TiO2. Our results show that monolayer TiO2 has good kinetic, thermodynamic and mechanical stability and can exist stably at room temperature. The results were demonstrated using the binding energy, phonon spectrum, molecular dynamics simulation, and elastic constant calculation. The band structure indicates that the monolayer TiO2 is an indirect bandgap semiconductor with energy gaps of 1.19 eV (GGA+PBE) and 2.76 eV (HSE06), respectively. The results of state density show that the Ti-3d state electrons constitute the top of the valence band and Ti-4s state electrons constitute the bottom of the conduction band. The electron states of O atoms contribute very little near the Fermi energy level and are mainly distributed in the deep energy level. In addition, the carrier mobility of monolayer TiO2 is smaller than monolayer MoS2, and the electron and hole mobility can reach 31.09 cm2·V–1·s–1 and 36.29 cm2·V–1·s–1, respectively. Due to the anisotropy of hole mobility and electron mobility, the composite rate of electrons and holes is relatively low. This ensures longer service life and better photocatalytic activity of monolayer TiO2. Furthermore, under the condition of uniaxial strain and biaxial strain, the energy gap of monolayer TiO2 has a clear response. The energy gap is more sensitive to biaxial strain than uniaxial strain, indicating that monolayer TiO2 can be applied to various semiconductor devices. The band-edge potential and optical properties of semiconductors indicate that two-dimensional TiO2 is capable of photo-splitting water production, H2 at –5~2% single/biaxial strain, and O2, H2O2, O3, etc. at –5~5% single/biaxial strain. Moreover, the monolayer TiO2 has a high absorption coefficient for visible and ultraviolet light. In conclusion, the monolayer TiO2 has a potential application prospect in the field of optoelectronic devices and photocatalytic materials in the future.

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    Zi-Qian Xiong, Peng-Cheng Zhang, Wen-Bin Kang, Wen-Yu Fang. Study on the electronic structure and photocatalytic properties of a novel monolayer TiO2[J]. Acta Physica Sinica, 2020, 69(16): 166301-1

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    Paper Information

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    Received: Apr. 29, 2020

    Accepted: --

    Published Online: Jan. 4, 2021

    The Author Email: Fang Wen-Yu (jzfangwenyu@163.com)

    DOI:10.7498/aps.69.20200631

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