Flower-shaped anatase TiO2 mesostructures with excellent photocatalytic properties

Abstract

The present paper reports a simple route to fabricate high surface area anatase TiO2 mesoflowers from electrospun TiO2-SiO 2 composite nanostructures. Electrospun fiber- and rice-shaped TiO2-SiO2 composite nanostructures upon treatment with concentrated alkali (NaOH) under hydrothermal conditions (180°C) result in chemical transformation of the TiO2 and in situ etching of SiO 2 to give sodium titanates. The sodium titanate upon acidification followed by a low temperature sintering (180°C) results in 3D TiO 2 mesoflowers. The material is found to be superior to the commercial P-25 in photocatalysis. © 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry.