Stabilisation of mesoporous TiO2 by different bases influencing the photocatalytic activity

Mesoporous titania was synthesised following the Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly method. The structures had to be thermally stabilised in order to possess photocatalytic activity, since the photocatalytic active anatase phase needs to be accessible. The photocatalytic activity of the materials was tested by the photodegradation of rhodamine 6G. The stabilisation of the mesoporous structure is done by a post-modification in basic medium. A comparison was made between NH4OH and NaOH as post-modification base. The results show that post-modification with NaOH is better than NH4OH and leads also to a better photocatalyst.