Highly crystalline and silica-embedded titania rhombic shaped nanoparticles with mesoporous structure and its application in photocatalytic degradation of organic compound

Highly crystalline and silica-embedded titania rhombic shaped nanoparticles with mesoporous structure have been successfully obtained in acetic acid solvent due to the synergistic effects of Si(OC2H5)4 (TEOS) and acetic acid and assemble to form 1-D chainlike structure. The silica-embedded TiO2 sample has a higher surface area than that of pure TiO2 and exhibits the enhanced photocatalytic performance. Especially, the silica-embedded titania nanoparticles with 0.6 ml TEOS exhibit the highest photocatalytic activity, which is 6.7 times that achieved on the undoped titania sample and 1.5 times that performed on the Degussa P25 powders.