Design and photocatalytic ability of ordered mesoporous TiO2 thin films

• Applicability of new highly ordered mesoporous TiO2 thin film for photocatalytic degradation of selected organic pollutants was tested.
• Complete degradation of methylene blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV) was achieved.
• Kinetic parameters of photodegradation reactions were correlated to the properties of mesoporous TiO2 films.
• Dip coating was proved to be effective technique to obtain desired morphology of ordered mesoporous TiO2 thin films by using polymer templates.

Homogeneous and crack-free TiO2 films with templated mesoporosity were prepared by the dip coating technique using an evaporation-induced, self-assembly method. The synthesized mesoporous TiO2 films were characterized using SEM/TEM, BET and XRD techniques. Degradation reactions of methylene blue and crystal violet dyes were used to test the photocatalytic capability of mesoporous TiO2 films. The degradation kinetics of methylene blue and crystal violet were investigated over a broad range of initial concentrations of the organic dyes. The kinetic data were correlated with the specific surface area and thickness of mesoporous TiO2 films, as well as number of reaction cycles.

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