Micro-mesoporous anatase TiO2 nanorods with high specific surface area possessing enhanced adsorption ability and photocatalytic activity

Abstract

In this paper, one-dimensional titania nanorods were rapidly fabricated via a microwave-assisted polyol synthesis of titanium glycolate, followed by water treatment under microwave irradiation. The obtained results indicated that the TiO2 nanorods with micro-mesoporous structure and a large specific surface area can be obtained in a very short water treatment duration (20 min) at the relatively lower energy consumption of 385 W, compared to a conventional polyol method. The morphology and structure of TiO2 nanorods were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), zeta potential measurements and N2 adsorption/desorption technique. N2 adsorption–desorption analysis showed that TiO2 nanorods have a large mesopore and micropore surface area (345 m2/g and 49 m2/g, respectively). The adsorption ability and photocatalytic activity of all samples were evaluated by the elimination degradation of Rhodamine B from an aqueous solution under dark and UV-irradiation conditions. Experimental data showed that the sorption process follows the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. It was found that more than 30% of RhB was removed by titania nanorods after dark treatment in the first 2 min. Compared to P-25, the TiO2 nanorods displayed higher photocatalytic activity, with RhB removal percentage of ∼98% in 30 min. Thus, titania nanorods produced by this rapid and effective approach have a potential application as a highly active adsorbent and photocatalyst for degradation of the model organic dye Rhodamine B.