Direct synthesis of defective ultrathin brookite-phase TiO nanosheets showing flexible electronic band states

We report a one-pot protocol to prepare ultrathin nanosheets of brookite-phase TiO 2 through hydrolyzing TiCl 3 in formamide. This 2D titania is defective and shows flexible electronic states and enhanced surface reactivity, which is probed by H 2 O 2 adsorption, catalytic TMB oxidation, and X-ray absorption fine structure. The nanosheets provide a new 2D platform to exploit the applications of TiO 2 in catalysis, energy conversion and storage. A one-pot protocol to directly prepare atomically-thin nanosheets of brookite-phase TiO 2 is developed by hydrolyzing TiCl 3 in formamide.