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Surface Mineralization of Cellulose by Metal Chloride – an Original Pathway for the Synthesis of Hierarchical Urchin and Needle Carpetlike TiO 2 Superstructures
Author(s) -
Nair G. Ranjith,
Samdarshi Sanjoy K.,
Boury Bruno
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
european journal of inorganic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1099-0682
pISSN - 1434-1948
DOI - 10.1002/ejic.201300669
Subject(s) - chemistry , anatase , photocatalysis , nanorod , mineralization (soil science) , chemical engineering , cellulose , sorption , nanotechnology , hydrothermal circulation , nanoscopic scale , arsenate , catalysis , adsorption , materials science , organic chemistry , nitrogen , engineering , arsenic
A new pathway has been developed for the preparation of hierarchical TiO 2 structures obtained “with‐and‐from” the surface of cotton. By reaction with TiCl 4 under anhydrous conditions, mineralization of the outer part of the cotton fiber produces hierarchical TiO 2 superstructures: at the nanoscale, anatase needles are made of nanorod assemblies and these needles are assembled into urchins and carpets at the submicrometer scale. This one‐step cotton fiber cellulose mineralization process differs from a simple deposition from inorganic sol; here, cellulose acts as both a reacting oxygen donor and also as a biotemplate. The material has high‐temperature crystal stability, and its photocatalytic activity in the UV range, without any doping, is higher than that of titania standard P25. The high photoactivity is ascribed to efficient light harvesting by hierarchical superstructures, efficient charge separation with reduced recombination in the crystalline material, and efficient sorption ability. From a general standpoint, our findings could be adapted to other metal oxides and pave the way to a number of solar‐cell, energy‐storage, and photonic‐sensor applications.