Synthesis and photocatalytic oxidation properties of titania hollow spheres

The hollow spheres of anatase TiO2 with higher photocatalytic activity have been fabricated by spherical CaCO3 nanoparticles as a template, and titanium sulfate (Ti(SO4)2) as a precursor, and the CaCO3 templates were dissolved subsequently in dilute HNO3 solution. The TiO2 hollow spheres samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms. The characterization results indicate that as prepared TiO2 hollow spheres sample was transformed to anatase phase in calcined at 400 °C, and the anatase TiO2 hollow spheres have a higher specific surface area and show much better photocatalytic activity than commercial P25 in the photodegradation of Rhodamine B under the UV irradiation.