Facile synthesis of mesoporous bicrystallized TiO2(B)/anatase (rutile) phases as active photocatalysts for nitrate reduction

Polyhedral and wormhole-like mesoporous titania nanoparticles composed of TiO2(B) and anatase (rutile) were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal self-assembly method employing, respectively polyacrylamide (AA), polyvinyl alcohol (VA) and polyoxyethyl lauryl ether (ELE) as templates. TEM, X-ray diffraction, FTIR, UV–vis DR spectroscopy and N2 sorptiometry were used for the characterization of surface morphology, phase composition, electronic properties and surface texturing of the synthesized catalysts. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated via the photo-reduction of nitrate in aqueous solution under UV light irradiation. The TiO2 catalyst derived from ELE presented the highest activity due to the alternate structure of anatase and TiO2(B) phases.

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► Synthesis of bicrystalline TiO2 (B)/anatase via hydrothermal-assembly method.
► They offered higher photocatalytic reduction of NO3- than P25.
► They characterized by BET, FTIR, TEM, XRD and UV-vis spectroscopy.
► TiO2 (B)/anatase interface played major roles for NO3- reduction.