Abstract
Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly (EISA) method for the preparation of mesoporous titanium dioxide materials is reviewed. The versatility of EISA method for the rapid and facile synthesis of TiO2 thin films and powders is highlighted. Non-ionic surfactants such as Pluronic P123, F127 and cationic surfactants such as cetyltrimethylammonium bromide have been extensively employed for the preparation of mesoporous TiO2. In particular, EISA method allows for fabrication of highly uniform, robust, crack-free films with controllable thickness. Eleven characterization techniques for elucidating the structure of the EISA prepared mesoporous TiO2 are discussed in this paper. These many characterization methods provide a holistic picture of the structure of mesoporous TiO2. Mesoporous titanium dioxide materials have been employed in several applications that include Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs), photocatalytic degradation of organics and splitting of water, and batteries.
Highlights
Porous materials play an important role in society from the many versatile applications, as in catalysis, adsorbents, optics, sensors, insulation coatings, ultra-low density materials, etc. [1,2]
Since the initial development of the M41S family of molecular sieves, other silica based mesoporous materials denoted as hexagonal mesoporous silica (HMS) [12], Michigan State University (MSU) series of materials [13,14], Santa Barbara Acidic (SBA) [15], FDU [16], and Mesostructured Cellular Foam (MCF) family of molecular sieves have been prepared [17,18]
The phase and crystallinity of titania formed is dependent on the nature of the surfactant and TiO2 precursor, the amount of water, pH, aging time, Relative Humidity (RH), and calcination temperature
Summary
Porous materials play an important role in society from the many versatile applications, as in catalysis, adsorbents, optics, sensors, insulation coatings, ultra-low density materials, etc. [1,2]. In the field of catalysis, porous materials are extensively used, and they directly impact the world’s economy by permitting reactions to occur under conditions that require less energy, such as in petroleum refining where various microporous zeolites play a prominent role in catalytic cracking reactions [3,4]. One of the major drawbacks of microporous materials, such as zeolites, is that their small pore openings prevent their use in demanding petroleum-refining applications [3,4]. The final class, macroporous materials have very large pore diameters but usually low surface areas and are employed in photonic applications, such as waveguides. Other types of approaches for preparation of different mesoporous oxide materials including EISA are available in the following reviews [6,7,8,9]. The applications in the area of energy and environmental technologies are discussed
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