Single‐crystal SnO2 nanorods were grown on rutile TiO2 with a heteroepitaxial relation of SnO2{001}/TiO2{001} (SnO2‐NR#TiO2) by a hydrothermal reaction. Resulting compressive lattice strain in the SnO2‐NR near the interface induces a continuous increase in the a‐axis length extending over 60 nm to relax towards the [001] direction from the root to the tip. UV‐light irradiation of the robust SnO2‐NR#TiO2 stably progresses the selective oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde with an external quantum yield of 25.6 % at excitation wavelength (λex)=365 nm under ambient temperature and pressure. Spectroscopic analyses and density functional theory simulation results suggested that the extremely high photocatalytic activity stems from the smooth interfacial electron transfer from TiO2 to SnO2‐NR through the high‐quality junction and subsequent efficient charge separation due to the lattice strain‐induced unidirectional potential gradient of the conduction band minimum in the SnO2‐NR.

A big question in the field of plasmonic photocatalysis is why the typical photocatalyst consisting of gold nanoparticle and rutile titanium(IV) oxide (Au/R-TiO2) usually exhibits activity much higher than Au/anatase...

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Anisotropic one-dimensional (1D)-particles with a SnO 2 "head", a TiO 2 "tail", and self-assembled three-dimensional (3D)-microspheres were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. At the first stage of the reaction, an amorphous TiO 2 layer is deposited on the SnO 2 surface. At the second stage, rutile nuclei are generated in the amorphous TiO 2 layer. At the third stage, a single TiO 2 nanorod grows from a SnO 2 particle with a heteroepitaxial relation of TiO 2 (001)//SnO 2 (001). Finally, the resulting 1D-anisotropic hybrid particles are self-assembled to form a radial 3D-microsphere with the SnO 2 head oriented in the central direction.

Heteroepitaxial growth of rutile TiO 2 nanorods from SnO 2 seeds yielded radial heteromesocrystals consisting of SnO 2 (head) and rutile TiO 2 nanorod(tail) with the SnO 2 (head) oriented toward the center (TiO 2 -NR//SnO 2 HEMCs). Iron oxide clusters were formed on the surface by the chemisorption−calcination technique. The FeO x -surface modification gives rise to drastic increases in the photocatalytic activity for aerobic oxidation of 2-naphthol under irradiation of UV and visible light. As a 2D-model for 3D-TiO 2 -NR//SnO 2 HEMC, electrochemical measurements were performed for the rutile TiO 2 -NR array formed on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (SnO 2 :F) electrode. The results showed that the FeO x clusters possess electrocatalytic activity for a multielectron oxygen reduction reaction, and the high photocurrent of the electrode is remarkably reduced by the FeO x -surface modification. Consequently, the striking photocatalytic activity of FeO x / TiO 2 -NR//SnO 2 HEMCs was ascribable to the switching of the electron transport direction necessary for the charge separation from the long axis of the TiO 2 NR to the short axis.