Template free synthesis of mesoporous TiO₂ with high wall thickness and nanocrystalline framework

Abstract

A simple procedure to prepare nanocrystalline mesoporous titania (meso-TiO₂) is reported without any templating agent and it possesses a high BET surface area and a large pore wall thickness (11.3nm) than that of meso-TiO₂ prepared by other methods. Nanocrystalline meso-TiO₂ also has been synthesized with hexadecylamine template for comparison through known procedure. The meso-TiO₂ materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, UV-Vis absorbance spectra, thermal analysis, SEM, HRTEM and textural properties through N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherms. Spherical shape particles in a range of few hundred nanometers are obtained in the template free method. Above systematic characterization provides direct indications toward the mechanism of formation of meso-TiO₂ in the template free method. A comparison of the physical and textural properties indicates a possibility of coarse-tuning of the textural characteristics of mesoporous TiO₂ by adopting different preparation methods.