Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic studies of copper-doped TiO2 hollow spheres using rape pollen as a novel biotemplate

Copper/titanium dioxide (Cu/TiO2) hollow microspheres were fabricated by direct coating of shells on the surface of rape pollen through an improved sol–gel process. Rape pollen grains were used as biotemplates, and they could be removed easily at high temperature. The average diameter of the as-synthesized hollow spheres was 15–20 μm, and the thickness of the hollow sphere shells was approximately 0.6 μm. These hollow microspheres had a higher specific surface area and exhibited stronger adsorptive capacity compared with the commercial p-25 system. The results indicate that Cu/TiO2 hollow microspheres have promising photocatalytic applications.

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► Rape pollen was used as biotemplate to prepare hollow spherical photocatalyst.
► The pollen grains could be easily removed at high temperature.
► Hollow spherical photocatalyst has high surface area and strong absorptive ability.
► The formation mechanism of hollow microsphere had been discussed.