Hierarchical tubular structure constructed by mesoporous TiO2 nanosheets: Controlled synthesis and applications in photocatalysis and lithium ion batteries

•Mesoporous TiO2 hierarchical tubular superstructure (MTNHTS) has been successfully synthesized.•The structure is 1–2 μm in diameter and 6–10 μm in length, which consists of mesoporous nanosheets.•The growth mechanism of such a unique structure has been discussed.•The photocatalytic activity and lithium ion batteries performance are investigated.•MTNHTS manifest enhanced performances of photocatalysis and Li-ion batteries superior to P25.

A mesoporous TiO2 nanosheet-based hierarchical tubular superstructure (MTNHTS) has been successfully synthesized on a large scale via a facial solvothermal approach. The obtained TiO2 tubular structure is 1–2 μm in diameter and 6–10 μm in length, consisting of interleaving mesoporous nanosheets with a thickness of about 24 nm. Investigation on time-dependent product and the effects of solvent constitution on the composition and morphology of product demonstrated that the growth of hierarchically tubular structure undergoes two intermediate products, hydroxylated titanium oxide and titanium glycerolate, the latter was converted into anatase TiO2 through calcination. When evaluated as a photocatalyst for degradation of methylene blue under UV light irradiation, the obtained MTNHTS manifest enhanced photocatalytic activity whose apparent rate constant for degrading methylene blue was up to 0.315 min−1, almost 1.3 times higher than that of Degussa P25. Furthermore, in the case of Li-ion batteries application, the MTNHTS show better performance as anode materials with high specific capacity and excellent cycling stability, superior to Degussa P25.

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