Photocatalytic degradation of formaldehyde using mesoporous TiO_2 prepared by evaporation-induced self-assembly

The mesoporous Ti O2 has been synthesized by evaporation induced self assembly(EISA) method. The thermogravimetric/differential scanning calorimetric(TG/DSC), X-ray diffraction(XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HR-TEM) and N2 adsorption desorption and adsorption are used to study the effects of the synthesized process condition on the microstructure of the as-synthesized mesoporous Ti O2. The photocatalytic performances of as-synthesized samples are evaluated by the degradation of the formaldehyde under ultraviolet light irradiations. The results demonstrate that the as-synthesized mesoporous Ti O2 are anatase with the uniform size about 20-40 nm. The sample is prepared using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide(CTAB) as the template with average pore size distribution of 8.12 nm, specific surface area of 68.47 m2/g and pore volume of 0.213 m L/g. The samples show decomposition of formaldehyde 95.8% under ultraviolet light irradiations for 90 min. These results provide a basic experimental process for preparation mesoporous Ti O2, which will posses a broad prospect in terms of the applications in improving indoor air quality.

The effect of solvent in evaporation-induced self-assembly:A case study of benzene periodic mesoporous organosilica

Volatile organic solvents were considered to have little influence on the synthesis of mesostructured materials through evaporation-induced self-assembly(EISA),because upon evaporation they leave the sol and hence do not interfere with the self-assembly process.We show here that the choice of solvent is crucial in the synthesis of thin films of phenylene-bridged periodic mesoporous organosilica(benzene PMO).Methanol is found to be a better solvent for the synthesis of thin films,whereas ethanol favors the formation of(HO)3Si-C6H4-Si(OH)3 crystals,the identity and structure of which is established by X-ray diffraction.A ternary reactant composition diagram is designed to visualize the relationship among multiple synthesis experiments and to guide the interpretation of experimental results and optimization of the quality of the periodic mesoporous organosilica film.Our study highlights the importance of solvent choice,a factor often neglected in EISA.We expect it to inspire researchers to explore the effect of solvent in designing the synthesis of mesoporous materials.