Photocatalytic activity of titania nanocrystals prepared by surfactant-assisted templating method—Effect of calcination conditions

Mesoporous titania nanocrystals were prepared by surfactant-assisted templating method (SATM) under sol–gel process. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized titania nanocrystals were tested on the basis of triiodide (I3−) formation. In this study, calcination is an effective treatment to improve the photocatalytic activity of mesoporous titania nanocrystals. The nanocrystals (ca.3–10 nm in diameter) obtained by calcination at 300 °C for 72 h exhibited higher photocatalytic activity than that of commercially available ST-01 and P-25.