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In‐situ UV‐irradiation activation leads to an intense visible‐light absorption of up to 700 nm in ethylene glycolate‐stabilized TiO2(B) nanosheets. It is ascribed that the creation of abundant subsurface/lattice oxygen vacancies and Ti3+ centers, along with UV‐induced breakdown of Ti−O bonds between ethylene glycolate and TiO2(B). Consequently, the enhanced and stable visible‐light‐driven photocatalytic H2 evolution is obtained on defect‐rich TiO2(B) nanosheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs) were successfully prepared via a hydrothermal method using citric acid and urea as the carbon and nitrogen precursors, respectively. Due to different post-treatment processes, the obtained NGQDs with different surface modifications exhibited blue light emission, while their visible-light absorption was obviously different. To further understand the roles of nitrogen dopants and N-containing surface groups of NGQDs in the photocatalytic performance, their corresponding composites with TiO2 were utilized to degrade RhB solutions under visible-light irradiation. A series of characterization and photocatalytic performance tests were carried out, which demonstrated that NGQDs play a significant role in enhancing visible-light driven photocatalytic activity and the carrier separation process. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the NGQDs/TiO2 composites can possibly be attributed to an enhanced visible light absorption ability, and an improved separation and transfer rate of photogenerated carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]