A Facile Synthesis of Hierarchically Porous TiO2 Microspheres with Carbonaceous Species for Visible-light Photocatalysis

Hierarchically porous anatase TiO2 microspheres composited with carbonaceous species (TCS) have been successfully fabricated by a one-step template-free solvothermal method, combined with subsequent low temperature dried process. In this configuration, the TCS microspheres are constructed by the interconnected porous nanosheets, which are further assembled with abundant nanoparticles and carbonaceous species. Such composite microspheres possess a large specific surface area of 337 m2 g-1, uniform mesopores of 3.37 nm and high total pore volumes of 0.275 cm3 g-1. The materials exhibit the enhanced photocatalytic properties and stability for degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible-light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic degradation performance may be ascribed to their abundant porous structure, large specific surface area and the unique assist-function of the carbonaceous species.