Controlled Design of Mesostructured Titania Based Materials

Abstract

AbstractMesostructured TiO2-surfactant hybrid xerogels and thin films are prepared by Evaporation-Induced Self Assembly (EISA). These organized structures are reproducibly formed through cooperative self-assembly between hydrophilic Ti-oxo species and a micellar template after selective solvent evaporation from ethanol/HCl/H2O media. The construction of these networks is tailored by tuning the hydrolysis-condensation of the metallic cations with the self-assembly of the organic counterparts (“hydrophilic matching” approach). The hybrids present hexagonal mesostructure (p6m). The formation kinetics of the mesophase is followed by SAXS, interferometry and mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of the vapor phase. An adequate thermal treatment of the organized hybrids leads to high surface (150-400m2 g-1) phosphorus-free mesoporous titania films or powders, with walls containing anatase nanocrystallites. This approach can be successfully extended to other non-silicate based meso-structured materials.