Rational Design of Bearing‐Construction Nanoreactor for Photocatalytic Application

ABSTRACT Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were homogeneously deposited on the surface of silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) and then encapsulated by an outer titanium oxide (TiO 2 ) layer. This SiO 2 /Ag/TiO 2 geometry (denoted as SiO 2 ‐Ag@TiO 2 nanoreactor, where “@” denotes a gap) composite was successfully developed via a conventional sacrificial method followed by partial etching. This special SiO 2 , Ag, TiO 2 bearing‐construction (BC) catalyst exhibits superior catalytic and exceptional stability performance when used in the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under ultraviolet light (UV light) and visible light, compared with pure TiO 2 shell and traditional Ag/TiO 2 yolk–shell (Ag‐TiO 2 ). This enhanced catalytic efficiency is primarily attributed to synergistic effects derived from Ag NPs “locking and guarding” mechanism in the presence of amino‐SiO 2 and outer TiO 2 . In this regard, our rational BC design concept proposed a state‐of‐the‐art strategy and provided an opportunity to shorten the distance between theory and practical applications in solar conversion, such as water splitting technology, photovoltaic, and solar cells.