Nanoporous TiO2 Spheres with Tailored Textural Properties: Controllable Synthesis, Formation Mechanism, and Photochemical Applications

Publication date: Available online 27 November 2019Source: Progress in Materials ScienceAuthor(s): Yong Ding, In Seok Yang, Zhaoqian Li, Xin Xia, Wan In Lee, Songyuan Dai, Detlef W. Bahenmann, Jia Hong PanAbstractNanoporous TiO2 spheres have emerged recently as a new class of TiO2 nanomaterials for photochemical applications. Compared with conventional TiO2 nanoparticles, the spherical assemblies consisting of low-dimensional nanocrystallites present significant advantages in terms of structural isotropy, monodisperse nature, structural diversity on nano- and (sub)micro-scales, structural stability, light harvesting property, interconnected nanobuilding blocks with less grain boundary, and easy reclaim. Superior performances have been demonstrated in the fields of photoelectrocatalysis and photovoltaics. Research efforts have been devoted to the rational design of a synthetic strategy for the facile preparation of nanoporous TiO2 spheres. The last decade has witnessed rapid progress in developing a synthesis strategy of nanoporous TiO2 spheres for optimal photochemical applications. Both chemical and physical routes have been extensively developed aiming to ease control over the self-assembly of nanobuilding blocks and, thus, the resultant textural properties and physicochemical performances of the nanoporous TiO2 spheres. In this review, a comprehensive description of different synthetic strategies is first presented, with a special emphasis on the formation mechanism, in pa...
Source: Progress in Materials Science - Category: Materials Science Source Type: research