Professor Zhang’s group has successfully prepared a series of photocatalyst with an extremely high quantum yield of solar energy photocatalysis for H2 evolution by using a low temperature vacuum activation technology. This brown phtocatalyst exhibits an excellent solar absorption and a record-breaking quantum yield (Φ = 46%) and a high photon–hydrogen energy conversion efficiency (η= 34%) for solar photocatalytic H2 production, and this work was published on a famous journal of "Small" as a "frontispiece" paper (2015, DOI: 10.1002 / SMLL. 201403056)". In addition, the "vacuum activation technology" has been successfully applied in the preparation of graphene modified TiO2 photocatalyst with high photocatalytic activity. The research achievement was published in “Scientific Reports (2015, 5, 8591)” which is included in the Nature Publishing Group. Those researches were accomplished by Dr. XING MingYang under the guidance of professor ZHANG Jinlong.
    Since 2011, professor Zhang’s group reported the "low temperature vacuum activation technology" for the first time (Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 2011), and this method is one of the most attractive technology in the field of photocatalysis. Low temperature vacuum activation is a low-energy, simple, environmentally friendly technology. It is very suitable for the modification on TiO2 and other traditional semiconductors. Since 2012, Dr. CHEN Xiaobo from the University of California (Berkeley) reported a black catalyst with a high activity in hydrogen evolution, which was published on the top journal of “Science”. The quantum yield of solar energy photocatalysis for H2 evolution of black TiO2 (Φ = 35%) was really difficult to have a new breakthrough. Recently, the vacuum activation method was successfully applied to prepare a fluorine doping modification TiO2 with brown color. It is the first time to make the fluorine doping amount more than 8%, and the hydrogen evolution efficiency also reaches the Φ = 46%, which has successfully broken the record of black catalyst in hydrogen evolution.

    Moreover, our researchers also have prepared a Ti3+ self-doped TiO2-graphene nanosheet composite photocatalyst by using the low-temperature vacuum activation method. It can not only obtain the graphene nanosheets by the micro shearing, but also narrow the width of band gap of TiO2. The prepared composite has the excellent photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and water splitting for the hydrogen production.
    In recent years, professor Zhang’s group has made some achievements in TiO2 photocatalysis system and organic-inorganic functional materials design and preparation, and relevant works have been published in well-known international journals such as: Chem. Rev., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Sci. Rep., Energy Environ. Sci., ACS Nano, Small, Nanoscale, Chem. Commun., J. Catal., and Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., which have been cited more than 7000 times.