Preparation and photocatalytic activity of mesoporous TiO2 derived from hydrolysis condensation with TX-100 as template

Mesoporous titania powder was prepared by hydrolysis condensation process using a non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 (TX-100) as template. The template could be easily removed by washing the precipitation with water and ethanol at room temperature as confirmed by FT-IR. XRD pattern demonstrates that as-synthesized product had a framework of anatase phase. TEM image shows the product possessed disordered nanopore channels and HRTEM shows the framework consisted of crystalline particles. N2 adsorption–desorption analysis indicates that the as-synthesized sample had a BET surface area of 241 m2/g and a narrow pore size distribution centered at 4.9 nm. The mesoporous titania could efficiently degrade methyl orange under UV irradiation and showed a stronger photocatalytic activity than commercial titania P25. Effects of calcination on crystallinity, pore structure and photocatalytic activity were also studied.