Strong Acidic Conditions Research Articles

Coassembly behavior and kinetics of cellulose nanocrystals and pH-responsive diblock copolymers PMMA-b-PDEAEMA at oil/water interfaces and applied on the liquid tubule formation

In this work, a series of oil soluble diblock copolymers poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PMMAm-b-PDEAEMAn; where m is fixed at 49 and n is varied from 3 to 12) are synthesized using a reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer RAFT method. The copolymers exhibit pH-dependant interfacial activities and behave as macromolecular surfactants under strong acidic conditions. The coassembly behavior and kinetics of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and the copolymer at the water/toluene interface is probed by tracking the dynamic interfacial tension using pendant drop tensiometry. At low pH such as 2 and 3, the film that CNCs coassemble with the copolymer at the oil/water interface can stabilize the pendant drop from dripping down. At a higher pH value, CNCs enhance the interfacial activity of the copolymer through interfacial tension measured and emulsions test. When investigating the coassembly kinetics, it is found that the interfacial protonation reaction of the copolymer and absorbing at the oil/water interface is the rate-determining step and electrostatic binding with CNCs is a much faster process. Besides, the interfacial activity of PMMAm-b-PDEAEMAn is enhanced as n increases and the interfacial coassembly with CNCs is accelerated. A nanoparticle film can be formed because of the coassembly behavior of CNCs and diblock copolymers at the oil/water interface and can stabilize the liquid/liquid interface and endow the interface elastic property. Based on this property, liquid tubule can be generated through injecting CNC aqueous dispersion to copolymer toluene solution. This formation of liquid tubule opens a new platform for the additive manufacturing technique of three-dimensional printing of liquid constructs.

Simultaneous separation of nickel and copper from sulfuric acid using chelating weak base resins

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe management of industrial spent acids containing metals to be potentially recovered for further reuse is within the scope of circular economy principles. In particular, spent sulfuric acid solutions are usually treated by precipitation technologies, which are limited by the lack of selectivity thus affecting metal reuse. In this work, acidic effluents containing nickel (≈9 g L−1), copper (≈3 g L−1) and iron (≈24 g L−1) in sulfuric acid media were treated with commercial chelating resins. Iminodiacetate (Purolite®S930Plus) and bis‐picolylamine (MTS9600®) resins were selected to perform the selective recovery of nickel and copper over iron, which is an impurity for further metal recovery by electrowinning.RESULTSUnder the selected operation conditions (pH ≈ 2), resin MTS9600® reported the best separation results with removal percentages of copper, nickel and iron of ≈80%, ≈99% and ≈10% respectively. The adsorption equilibrium of copper and nickel were described by the Langmuir (qm,Cu = 48 309 mg kgdryresin−1 and KL,Cu = 9.1 10−2 L mg−1) and Freundlich (KF,Ni = 645 (mg kgdry resin−1)(L mg−1)1/n) and nNi = 2.29) models, respectively. Kinetic experiments confirmed that copper removal is preferential and weakly influenced by the operation conditions being described by a pseudo‐first‐order model. On the contrary, nickel kinetics that followed a pseudo‐second order are strongly affected by reducing both the pH and the solid–liquid ratio.CONCLUSIONSThe promising results confirm that resin MTS9600® is an effective adsorbent for the removal of nickel and copper at strong acid conditions. More research is being conducted to analyze the resin regeneration and the selective recovery of target metals. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

Aging behavior of nano-CaCO3-modified polypropylene nonwoven fabric composites

Nano-CaCO3-modified polypropylene (PP) nonwoven fabric composite is widely used as the filter material which could overcome the poor lightfastness and low weight of the pure one, while its aging performances would be influenced. In this article, the aging behavior of the nano-CaCO3-modified PP nonwoven fabric composite was investigated. At first, the difference between untreated and CaCO3-modified PP nonwoven fabric was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis, and X-ray diffraction. Then the aging behaviors of these two PP nonwoven fabrics were studied in detail. The results showed that the PP nonwoven fabric exhibited good acid corrosion resistance. On the contrary, acid corrosion resistance of the modified PP nonwoven fabric was poor; although its weight and strength didn’t change under weak acid condition, its weight and strength loss both increased obviously under medium and strong acid condition with the prolongation of corrosion time. Due to the ultraviolet (UV) energy dissipation of nano-CaCO3 particles, the UV aging resistance of the modified PP nonwoven fabric was improved, and the compound UV aging under weak acid condition was also superior to that of the untreated PP fabric. This article will provide experimental and theoretical base for the structural regulation of CaCO3-modified PP fibers.

Stacking and Detecting Blood Glutathione as a Cation under Strong Acidic Conditions by Capillary Electrophoresis using Acetonitrile-salt Stacking Method

Blood glutathione (exists in both reduced and oxidized states) was firstly stacked and separated as a cation using acetonitrile–salt stacking method by capillary electrophoresis. Blood samples were treated with 200 mM phosphoric acid and acetonitrile at a final volume ratio of 2 : 1 : 1 and supernates were directly assayed after centrifugation (15 000 g, 15 min). Several factors influencing the separation and stacking were systematically investigated and optimized. Under the selected conditions, blood glutathione can be detected within 35 min with satisfactory limit of detection (0.1–0.3 μM), relative standard deviation (<1.0% for migration time; <2.0% for peak area) and linearity range (0.3–640 μM), which proves that the proposed method is suitable for routine glutathione determination in blood samples.

Catalytic water oxidation by a single site [Ru(Fc-tpy)(bpy)OH2]2+ complex and it’s mechanistic study

The mononuclear complex [Ru(Fc-tpy)(bpy)Cl]PF6 (Ru-Cl) and its corresponding aqua [Ru(Fc-tpy)(bpy)OH2](PF6)2 (Ru-OH2) complex (Fc-tpy = 4′-(2-ferrocenyl)-2,2′:6′2″-terpyridine) have been synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, Mass Spectrometry and the structure of the complex (Ru-Cl) was confirmed by Single Crystal X-Ray Crystallographic studies. Under strong acidic conditions the Fe(II) centre of ferrocene moiety (Fc) undergoes protonation to generate Fe(IV)hydrido species Fe(IV)H (FcH+). The Ru-OH2 complex shows one pKa value at 10.0 due to deprotonation of the aqua ligand. The resting potential of Ru-OH2 complex in pH 1.62 phosphate buffer indicates that the Fe center in ferrocene is in FeIII state, and the Ru center is in RuIII state. This complex acts as an efficient water oxidation catalyst at pH = 1.0 in triflic acid using ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as a sacrificial electron acceptor. The complex exhibits a turnover number (TON) of 12, whereas parent [Ru(tpy)(bpy)(OH2)]2+ complex exhibits a TON of 10 under the similar conditions. The presence of ferrocenyl group coupled with terpyridine has the potential to act as an electron donor, and can stabilize the higher oxidation state of ruthenium complex required towards chemical water oxidation. The rate of evolution of O2Ru-OH2 is much higher as compared to parent [Ru(tpy)(bpy)(OH2)]2+ complex with 230 mV of lower onset potential. The rate of O2 evolution is 1st order with respect to the catalyst as well as oxidant (CAN) concentration. The species distribution path involves [Fc+-RuII-OH2]3+, [Fc+-RuV=O]4+, [Fc+-RuVI=O]5+, [Fc+-RuIV-O-OH]4+, [Fc+-RuV-O-O]4+, [Fc+-RuIII-OH2]4+and [Fc+-RuIII-OH]3+. The rate of O⋯O bond formation (kO⋯O), interaction of [RuIV-O-OH]2+ with Ce4+ and O2 evolution (kO2) indicates that the interaction step is the rate-determining step, where k = 6.0 × 10−4 M−1 s−1.

A naked-eye detection polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose-based pH sensor for intelligent packaging

Naked-eye detection pH sensor is becoming a powerful tool in food safety monitoring. In this work, a pH sensor was developed by incorporating cellulose modified with acidochromic dye into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The results indicated that the dye (up to 170.4 μmol/g) was successfully anchored to cellulose. It was demonstrated that the addition of acidochromic regenerated cellulose (ARC) resulted in enhancement of tensile strength, elongation at break and maximum decomposition temperature by 44 %, 43.6 % and 11 °C, respectively. The pH sensor demonstrated that a visible color change from yellow to brick-red and to purple when placed in solutions of pH = 7, 10 and 12. The pH sensor showed excellent resistance to leaching under strong acidic and alkaline conditions. When applied to spoiled shrimp, an evident color change from yellow to brown was observed, suggesting it could serve as an easy-to-use, non-destructive visual indicator system for real-time food monitoring.

PH-Tolerant giant vesicles composed of cationic lipids with imine linkages and oleic acids.

Giant vesicles (GVs) have attracted attention as functional materials because they can encapsulate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds. For next generation functional GVs, both tolerance and stimuli-sensitivity are needed. So far, vesicles tolerant to acidic or basic conditions were generated using a mixture of cationic lipids and fatty acids. Here, to create functional GVs that are tolerant to a wide pH range but sensitively respond at below a specific pH, the behaviour of GVs composed of a cationic lipid with an imine bond and oleic acid was investigated. Even though the GVs prepared by the film swelling method were tolerant to strongly acidic conditions, GVs without oleic acid gradually shrank, accompanied by the generation of oil droplets at the same pH. 1H NMR analysis revealed that during hydration of the film, the imine bond hydrolysed to provide a cationic surfactant and an oil component in the presence of oleic acid due to its own Lewis basicity, suggesting the dissociation of oleic acid. The results of fluorescence spectroscopy using an environment-responsive probe and IR spectroscopy indicated that the GV tolerance originated from the intermolecular interactions of cationic lipids and anionic oleate.

Thin glass micro-dome structure based microlens fabricated by accurate thermal expansion of microcavities

We present an efficient fabrication technique for a glass microdome structure (GMDS) based on the microthermal expansion principle, by inflating the microcavities confined between two thin glass slides. This technique allows controlling the height, diameter, and shape of the GMDS with a uniformity under 5%. The GMDS has a high potential for the application of the microlens and lens array. This inflated hollow, thin glass structure is stable at extreme environments such as in strong acid and high temperature conditions. More importantly, the hollow microdome can be filled with liquid substances to further extend its applications. To verify our method, various GMDSs were fabricated under different process conditions, at different temperatures (540 °C–600 °C), microcavity diameters (300 μm–600 μm), glass thicknesses (120 μm–240 μm), and microcavity etching depths (25 μm–70 μm). The optical features of “empty” and “filled” microcavities were investigated. An empty microcavity functioned as a reducing lens (0.61×–0.9×) (meniscus lens), while a filled microcavity functioned as a magnifying lens (1.31×–1.65×) (biconvex lens). In addition, both lenses worked in strong acid (sulfuric acid) and high temperature (over 300 °C) conditions in which other materials of lenses cannot be used.

Iron-loaded carbon nanotube-microfibrous composite for catalytic wet peroxide oxidation of m-cresol in a fixed bed reactor.

A kind of novel iron-loaded carbon nanotube-microfibrous composite (Fe2O3-CNT-MF) catalyst is prepared and tested for fixed bed m-cresol catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) reaction. Results show that the Fe2O3-CNT-MF can significantly decline the pressure drop of the fixed bed. Higher temperature, lower feed flow rate, higher catalyst bed height, and higher H2O2 dosage are beneficial to m-cresol degradation. Lower pH can also improve m-cresol degradation, but it will cause severe iron leaching. The highest m-cresol removal (over 99.5%) and total organic carbon (TOC) removal (53.6%) can be observed under condition of 2cm bed height, flow rate of 2mL/min, reaction temperature of 70°C, 6g/L H2O2, and initial pH = 1. Meanwhile, the Fe2O3-CNT-MF catalyst shows good stability with less than 10% decrease in m-cresol conversion and 7% decrease in TOC conversion after 24-h reaction and less than 2mg/L iron leaching is observed in all conditions except for strong acid condition. Two probable pathways of m-cresol degradation process are presented. Under most conditions, m-cresol will first be turned into methylhydroquinone, followed by oxidation to p-toluquinone. In basic condition, some m-cresol will first be changed into 4-methylpyrocatechol. These aromatic intermediates will then be oxidized into some small molecular acids and finally be mineralized to CO2 and H2O.

Plutonium migration in a rough single fractured granite

The insights into the transport mechanism of Pu in granite fractures are indispensable for a reliable safety-assessment of radioactive waste disposal sites. In this work, the study of transport behavior of Pu in a rough single fracture has been performed under different pH conditions. The results indicated that under strong acidic condition the sorption of Pu dominated by ion-exchange reaction is quite weak, reversible and not be affected by the change of flow rates, while under neutral condition the majority of Pu can be adsorbed onto granite surface, controlled by surface-complex reaction between Pu(OH)4(aq) and fracture surface hydroxyl groups.

Degradable and Thermosensitive Microgels with Tannic Acid as the Sole Cross-Linker.

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM)-tannic acid (TA) microgels were successfully prepared via surfactant-free emulsion polymerization (SFEP) at 70 °C in aqueous solution using N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) as the monomer and a natural polyphenol macromolecule, TA, as the sole cross-linker. The cross-linking network of the PNIPAM-TA microgels was confirmed to contain both physical cross-linking structures formed via hydrogen-bonding interactions between TA and PNIPAM chains and chemical cross-linking structures formed via capturing the radicals of propagating polymer chains by catechol and pyrogallol groups of TA. Furthermore, TA was applied to modify the surface of hydrophobic Fe3O4 nanoparticles, leading to hydrophilic Fe3O4@TA composite nanoparticles, which were successfully used as the cross-linker to fabricate PNIPAM-Fe3O4@TA organic-inorganic hybrid microgels. The obtained PNIPAM-TA and PNIPAM-Fe3O4@TA organic-inorganic hybrid microgels had a uniform spherical shape with a relatively narrow size distribution and exhibited thermosensitive behavior and pH-tunable degradation. The PNIPAM-TA microgels were stable in the pH range of 1.3-11.1 but underwent complete degradation with pH above 11.4. The PNIPAM-Fe3O4@TA hybrid microgels were partially degraded at pH values of 1.3 and 2.1, stable in the pH range of 3.1-11.1, and underwent complete degradation at pH above 11.4. The partial degradation of PNIPAM-Fe3O4@TA organic-inorganic hybrid microgels under strong acidic conditions was attributed to the disintegration of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The complete degradation of both microgels at pH above 11.4 was attributed to the hydrolysis of ester groups of TA under strong alkali conditions.

Stimuli-responsive self-assembled dendrimers for oral protein delivery

Oral delivery of protein is very challenging for therapeutic applications due to protein instability and degradability. Herein we synthesized benzoboroxole-containing multi-armed poly(ethylene glycol) amphiphilic dendrimers sensitive to both pH and glucose. The multi-branched structure of dendrimer facilitated its self-assembly into micelles in aqueous solution and exhibited good encapsulation of insulin just by simply mixing with insulin solution. The insulin loaded micelles were stable under strong acidic condition and showed glucose-responsive insulin release at physiological pH. The reversible binding between benzoboroxole and glucose can effectively regulate the disassembly of micelles and insulin release rate, which in turn stabilizes blood sugar fluctuations. Utilizing a mouse model of type 1 diabetes, it was demonstrated that these insulin loaded micelles could successfully control the blood glucose levels under a normoglycemic state and avoid the risk of hypoglycemia. Therefore, this smart delivery system shows great potential to significantly improve the effect of oral protein therapy.

Fast and facile size selection processing for high quality cellulose nanowhiskers

Cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) are appealing natural materials with a broad range of applications in nanoscience. The hydrolysis of the amorphous regions is a kinetic-controlled process in which the natural fibers undergo degradation at strong acidic conditions. Therefore, as-prepared samples of CNWs are constituted of particles with broad varieties of length and diameter. In fact, the majority of cellulose particles are microcrystalline. For more precise and specific applications, a further purification process of as-synthesized CNWs is required. This purification process must lead to more uniform nanoparticles. Herein, we report a purification protocol based exclusively on successive centrifugation steps. Cotton fibers were used as a cellulose source and the four-step centrifugation protocol applied for purification. Dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscope techniques were used to verify the changes in the selection process. The initial sample was composed of particles between 50 and 2000 nm. After the four-step purification process, more than 90% of purified particles size ranged from 150 to 400 nm with a net yield of 54%.

Synthesis and characterizations of TiN–SBA-15 mesoporous materials for CO2 dry reforming enhancement

Abstract A novel approach of titanium nitride (TiN) incorporated into SBA-15 framework was developed using one-step hydrothermal synthesis method. TiN contents up to ~18 wt% were directly dispersed in a synthetic gel under a typical strong acidic condition. The physico-chemical characteristics and the surface properties were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), N2 adsorption-desorption, field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) and CO2-temperature programmed desorption (CO2-TPD). The results indicated that the highly ordered mesostructured was effectively maintained with high specific surface area of 532–685 m2g−1. The basicity of the modified SBA-15 increased with rising TiN loading. These modified materials were applied as a support of Ni catalyst in dry reforming of methane (DRM). Their catalytic behavior possessed superior conversions for both CO2 and CH4 with the highest H2/CO ratio (0.83) as well as 50 % lower carbon formation, compared to bare SBA-15 support.

Degradation process of alkali-activated slag/fly ash and Portland cement-based pastes exposed to phosphoric acid

High costs are currently involved in the repair and replacement of sewage concrete pipes due to the severe damage caused by the acid-rich aggressive environments of sewage and drainage wastewater. Although it is known that, a high concentration of phosphoric acid exists in some sewer pipes, very few studies have been focused on its impact on various cementitious materials. The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the resistance of alkali-activated slag/fly ash-based pastes and compare them to ordinary Portland cement-based pastes exposed to phosphoric acid with different pH values (pH = 2, 3 and 4) for a period of 150 days. The experimental results revealed that alkali-activated slag/fly ash-based pastes are more resistant to phosphoric acid attacks compared to ordinary Portland cement-based peers. Furthermore, it is also observed that the kinetics of degradation of the pastes are vastly different, depending on their binders: the degradation process of ordinary Portland cement-based pastes can be described by using Power law, while the degradation process of alkali-activated slag/fly ash-based pastes is divided into an early stage and a later stage which can be described by using the Hill function and the Power law, respectively. The theoretical model developed in this study predicts that, under strong phosphoric acid condition for a period of 50 years, alkali-activated slag/fly ash-based pastes could potentially reduce the degradation depth by around 70%–80% in comparison to ordinary Portland cement-based pastes.

As(III)-Domesticated HQ0211 Mix Bacterial and Archaeal Culture in Pretreatment of Arsenic-Bearing Refractory Gold Ore

According to current statistics, one-third of the world’s total gold output comes from refractory gold ores. These types of ore pose a very different challenge to producers. One of the contributors to refractory behaviors is arsenic which causes refractoriness even at low concentration. To improve the arsenic resistance of the bioleaching strains is very necessary and important for the treatment of arsenic-bearing refractory gold ores. In this paper, HQ0211 mix microbial culture was used to study bio-oxidation of arsenic-bearing refractory gold ore after domestication in As(III) environment. The oxidation effect was measured by determining the redox potential, pH, concentration of Fe2+ (g L−1), dissolved arsenic (%) and concentration of the mix microbial strains. It was found that HQ0211 mix microbial strains oxidized As3+ to As5+ efficiently. In order to reduce the harmful effect of arsenic to the growth of the strains, about 65.52% of As3+ was oxidized to As5+ at the end of the oxidation process. The logarithmic period was the best period for the oxidation ability and stability of the strains. The HQ0211 mix microbial culture which had been domesticated by As(III) was suitable for the oxidation pretreatment of arsenic-bearing refractory gold deposits. On the other hand, separation of As3+ and As5+ was conducted. It was discovered that under strong acid condition, toluene could be used to extract As3+ while As5+ retained in the water phase. The content of As3+ was determined by iodine method. It was found that the acidity of the solution had a great influence on the extraction of As3+ by toluene. The total separation of As3+ and As5+ and the recovery rate were greater than 99%. The separation could be achieved when the concentration of HCl was greater than 10 mol L−1.

Target-Triggered Polymerization of Branched DNA Enables Enzyme-free and Fast Discrimination of Single-Base Changes.

SummarySingle-base changes lead to important biological and biomedical implications; however, the discrimination of single-base changes from normal DNA always remains a grand challenge. Herein we developed a DNA recognition and amplification system based on artificial branched DNA, namely, target-triggered polymerization (TTP), to realize enzyme-free and fast discrimination of single-base changes. Branched DNA as monomers rapidly polymerized into DNA nanospheres only with the trigger of specific DNA. Our TTP system worked reliably over a wide range of conditions. Remarkably, our TTP system was capable of discriminating base-changing DNA from normal DNA, including distinguishing 1–4 nucleotide changes and positions of single base, which was attributed to the significant amplification of small differences in hybridization thermodynamics and kinetics. We further proposed a theoretical method for calculating the hybridization probability of nucleic acids, which performed highly consistent with experimental results.

An efficient and health-friendly adsorbent N-[4-morpholinecarboximidamidoyl]carboximidamidoylmethylated polyphenylene sulfide for removing heavy metal ions from water

N-[4-morpholinecarboximidamidoyl]carboximidamidoylmethylated polyphenylene sulfide (MCMPPS) was synthesized by grafting moroxydine on cholomethylated polyphenylene sulfide (CMPPS) resin for removing heavy metal ions from water. Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is a health-friendly polymer, moreover, the moroxydine is an antiviral drug. The resin MCMPPS exhibited excellent chemical stability under strong acid, basic and oxidative conditions. The maximum adsorption capacity of resin MCMPPS for Pb(II), Cd(II), Cr(III), Cu(II) and Ni(II) ions were 186.92, 189.75, 120.04, 119.33 and 134.05 mg g−1, respectively, moreover, equilibrium time of MCMPPS adsorbing Pb(II), Cr(III), Cu(II) and Cd(II) ions are about 30 min. Therefore, this new sorbent showed a potential application in the removal of heavy metal ions in water owing to its thermal and chemical stability, healthy safety, and efficient adsorption. The FT-IR spectra and EA data suggested that heavy metal ions were quickly and effective adsorbed on surfaces of the adsorbent by coordination reaction of heavy metal ions with amino and imino groups.

Effect of isopropanol on crystal growth and photocatalytic properties regulation of anatase TiO2 single crystals

ABSTRACTAnatase TiO2 crystals with different morphologies were synthesised through a solvothermal route and characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). Characterisation results show that anatase TiO2 single crystals with high activity (001) facets could be synthesised by using hydrofluoric acid as the crystal plane controlling agent. Experiments on the effect of isopropanol (i-PrOH) on crystal growth show that isopropanol can accelerate hydroxylation and substitution of (001) facets under solvothermal conditions, resulting in corrosion of (001) facets. Besides, we proposed and discussed a plausible effect mechanism of isopropanol on crystal growth. Research on the regulation of photocatalytic properties proposed that the solvents properties are the critical factors in controlling the redox reaction process. The stronger acidic conditions and higher proportion of water in solvents are more conducive to oxidation reaction. Anaerobic environment is more conducive to reduction reaction.

Role of block copolymer template for tailoring crystal structure and band gap of titania in mesoporous silica and organosilica particles

This work presents the tailoring of distinct titania (titania oxide) (TiO2) crystal structures inside the mesoporous silica and organosilica using several different block copolymer templates in acidic aqueous solution with different acidity. Different crystal structures of TiO2 have been obtained as rutile and anatase phases, mainly depending on the chemical composition of block copolymer templates used in this study. A PEO-PLGA-PEO (EO17(L28G7)EO17, LGE54) triblock copolymer, as well as typical Pluronic P123 (EO20PO70EO20) and F127 (EO106PO70EO106) triblock copolymers was employed as structure-directing templates for the sol-gel reaction of silane precursors. As silica and organosilica precursors, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTEE), and 1,4-bis(triethoxysilyl)benzene (BTEB) were utilized with a titanium butoxide precursor. The crystal structure of TiO2 and its corresponding band gap were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis) measurements, respectively. Anatase crystalline phase of TiO2 was found in the mesoporous sample prepared with Pluronic copolymer (i.e. P123 and F127) templates. On the other hand, the rutile phase was developed only in mesoporous samples prepared with an LGE54 PEO-PLGA-PEO triblock copolymer template. It was found the TiO2 crystal structure is varied mainly depending on the polymer template under various strong acidic conditions. It seems that a thermodynamically more stable rutile phase can be formed using a more hydrophobic LGE54 template which supplies stronger micelle core as a platform. Further, it is known that the incorporation of TiO2 in mesoporous silica and organosilica samples induces the conduction activity, especially toward the blue light region. Thus, this work can be applied to produce effective blue region semiconductor material with different crystallite structures by tuning the precursors and copolymer templates.