[en] Highlights: • TiO₂-C composite with a Ti–C chemically bonded interface short the charger transfer path. • TiO₂-C composite displayed exceptional photoelectron responses compared to TiO₂/C composite without Ti–C bond. • The rate of visible-light driven photocatalytic water splitting for H₂ generation of TiO₂-C was about 12 times of TiO₂/C composite. The construction of semiconductor composites is known a powerful method to realize the spatial separation of electrons and holes, which results in more electrons or holes dispersing on the surface, accompanying a charge transfer and further extending the region of charge depletion at the interface between these two components of the composite. However, most of them are based on a random accumulation connection of two different crystals and there are obvious empty spaces, which are formed as deplete layer to hinders the charge transfer to a large extent. In order to shorten the charger transfer path and make a direct charge transform from interface to surface, a chemically bonded interface in the composite is more reasonable. In this work, using one-dimensional TiO₂-C composite nanorods with a Ti–C chemically bonded interface as a touchstone, which was prepared through a simple carbonized process, the above strategy for better semiconductor photocatalytic water splitting property has been realized.