Highly ordered mesoporous titania–zirconia photocatalyst for applications in degradation of rhodamine-B and hydrogen evolution

We report a facile synthesis of highly ordered mesoporous titania–zirconia composites with broad Ti/Zr ratios via an evaporation-induced self assembly (EISA) process. Amphiphilic poly(alkylene oxide) block copolymers, P123 and F127, serve as structure-directing agents (SDAs). By adjusting initial molar ratios of copolymer to metal precursors, titania–zirconia nanocomposites with controlled texture and composition are obtained in a wide range from 10 to 90 mol% TiO2. Small-angle X-ray diffraction (SAXRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements reveal the two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal mesostructure (p6mm) with large-domain regularity. These mesostructured composites possess large surface areas and pore volumes, narrow pore size distributions, and abundant surface Lewis acid sites, resulting in unique photocatalytic activities for degradation of rhodamine-B and hydrogen evolution in methanol aqueous solution. Their good photocatalytic abilities are ascribed to the cooperative effect of the porosity and crystallinity.