Unraveling the Origin of Visible Light Capture by Core–Shell TiO₂ Nanotubes

A black TiO 2 nanotube (NT) heterostructure with an anatase-core and an amorphous-shell has been synthesized by NH 3 annealing of amorphous NT grown by the anodization of a Ti substrate. Remarkable photoabsorption behavior of these black TiO 2 NTs is observed: strong absorption throughout the entire optical wavelength region from ultraviolet to near-infrared. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) have been used to elucidate the origin of this spectacular light capture phenomenon. Surface-sensitive XANES recorded in total electron yield and XPS show that the surface layer is amorphous with a chemical composition approaching that of Ti 4 O 7 . Bulk-sensitive XANES using X-ray partial fluorescence yield and Ti 2p RIXS confirm the presence of a rich amount of Ti 3+ in the crystalline bulk (core of the NT with anatase structure) of black TiO 2 NTs, which exhibits a dispersive d-d energy loss at ∼2 eV corresponding to the broad visible light absorption at ∼600 nm. Our results suggest that the extraordinary photoabsorption behavior of these black TiO 2 NTs is due to the stabilization of Ti 3+ in this special N-doped core–shell assembly having structure varying between TiO 2 (bulk anatase) and Ti 4 O 7 (surface, amorphous).