Abstract:Highly-ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays were synthesized by anodic oxidation of titanium foil in ethylene glycol electrolyte. The morphology and element composition of the TiO2 nanotubes were characterized by SEM and EDX, respectively. The growth?process of the TiO2 nanotubes was also discussed. The results indicate that the formation of TiO2 nanotubes is a transformation?process from nanoporous structure to individual nanotube arrays structure. Moreover, efficient hydrogen production with low?energy?consumption is achieved using TiO2 nanotubes as photoanode in the two-compartment photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell, in which the photovoltage of TiO2 cooperates with a chemical bias produced by the pH difference between acidic electrolyte and alkaline electrolyte to reach the voltage of water splitting. Without any external applied voltage or sacrificial agent, the photocurrent density TiO2 nanotubes is 6.51 mA/cm2 and the hydrogen production rate of 108.9 μmol/cm2 is obtained under solar light illumination for 1 h