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A Unique Disintegration–Reassembly Route to Mesoporous Titania Nanocrystalline Hollow Spheres with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity
Author(s) -
Wang Xin,
Bai Licheng,
Liu Hongyan,
Yu Xuefeng,
Yin Yadong,
Gao Chuanbo
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201704208
Subject(s) - materials science , photocatalysis , crystallinity , mesoporous material , chemical engineering , nanoparticle , polystyrene , nanocrystalline material , polymerization , dispersity , polymer , nanotechnology , composite material , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , catalysis , chemistry , engineering
A novel disintegration–reassembly route is reported for the synthesis of mesoporous TiO 2 nanocrystalline hollow spheres with controlled crystallinity and enhanced photocatalytic activity. In this unique synthesis strategy, it is demonstrated that sol–gel‐derived mesoporous TiO 2 colloidal spheres can be disintegrated into discrete small nanoparticles that are uniformly embedded in the polymer (polystyrene, PS) matrix by surface‐induced photocatalytic polymerization. Subsequent reassembly of these TiO 2 nanoparticles can be induced by an annealing process after further coating of a resorcinol–formaldehyde (RF) resin, which forms self‐supported hollow spheres of TiO 2 at the PS/RF interface. The abundant phenolic groups on the RF resin serve as anchoring sites for the TiO 2 nanoparticles, thus enable the reassembly of the TiO 2 nanoparticles and prevent their sintering during the thermal crystallization process. This unique disintegration–reassembly process leads to the formation of self‐supported TiO 2 hollow spheres with relatively large surface area, high crystallinity, and superior photocatalytic activity in dye degradation under UV light irradiation.