Boosted photocatalytic degradation performance of TiO2 with enriched oxygen vacancies.

• TiO 2 was prepared by a hydrothermal method with PPSU. • Separation of photoinduced carriers has been largely promoted. • The level of •O 2 - is greatly boosted. • PPSU-TiO 2 possess higher photocatalytic activity than TiO 2. In this study, TiO 2 with abundant oxygen vacancies (OVs) was prepared through a hydrothermal method in the presence of polyphenylsulphone (PPSU). Introduction of PPSU results in enriched OVs within TiO 2 and boosted the level of ∙O 2 -, dramatically ameliorating photogenerated charges separation efficiency and elevating photocatalytic activity. Compared with the reference TiO 2 , PPSU-TiO 2 exhibits enhance activity in photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and tetracycline (TC). Analysis reveals that ∙O 2 - serves as the primary active free radicals in RhB degradation by PPSU-TiO 2. Furthermore, PPSU-TiO 2 maintains high activity over seven successive cycles, demonstrating excellent stability. Therefore, adding PPSU into the synthesis system of TiO 2 is proved to be an effective strategy to enhance photocatalytic performance. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]