Preparation of ordered mesoporous TiO 2 and its photocatalytic activity

Abstract

A transparent TiO₂ gel was prepared by the sol-gel method using a block copolymer (P123) as the template agent and titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) as the inorganic precursor. Ordered mesoporous TiO₂ was obtained after calcination. The structure, morphology, crystalline size, specific surface area, pore size, and photocatalytic activity of the resultant samples were characterized using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and N₂ adsorption—desorption techniques. The sample obtained at 400°C shows good crystallization and had a surface area of 334m²/g with a pore size of 7.8nm. The mesoporous TiO₂ showed high activity in photodecomposing methyl orange solution: 40ml methyl orange solution (20mg/l) completely decomposed within 30min. The photodecomposition ratio of the product is much higher than commercially available TiO₂ nanoparticles and the high photocatalytic activity remains after regeneration.