Design and synthesis of TiO/C nanosheets with a directional cascade carrier transfer.

Directed transfer of carriers, akin to excited charges in photosynthesis, in semiconductors by structural design is challenging. Here, TiO nanosheets with interlayered sp carbon and titanium vacancies are obtained by low-temperature controlled oxidation calcination. The directed transfer of carriers from the excited position to Ti-vacancies to interlayered carbon is investigated and proven to greatly increase the charge transport efficiency. The TiO/C obtained demonstrates excellent photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical activity and significant lithium/sodium ion storage performance. Further theoretical calculations reveal that the directional excited position/Ti-vacancies/interlayered carbon facilitate the spatial inside-out cascade electron transfer, resulting in high charge transfer kinetics.