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Mesoporous TiO2 from poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-b-polystyrene block copolymers for long-term acetaldehyde photodegradation.
- Source :
-
Journal of Materials Science . Feb2020, Vol. 55 Issue 5, p1933-1945. 13p. 3 Diagrams, 1 Chart, 4 Graphs. - Publication Year :
- 2020
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Abstract
- Although already some mesoporous (2–50 nm) sol–gel TiO2 synthesis strategies exist, no pore size control beyond the 12 nm range is possible without using specialized organic structure-directing agents synthetized via controlled anionic/radical polymerizations. Here, we present the use of reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization as a straightforward and industrial applicable alternative to the existing controlled polymerization methods for structure-directing agent synthesis. Poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-block-polystyrene (PDMA-b-PS) block copolymer, synthesized via RAFT, was chosen as structure-directing agent for the formation of the mesoporous TiO2. Crack-free thin layers TiO2 with tunable pores from 8 to 45 nm could be acquired. For the first time, in a detailed and systematic approach, the influence of the block size and dispersity of the block copolymer is experimentally screened for their influence on the final meso-TiO2 layers. As expected, the mesoporous TiO2 pore sizes showed a clear correlation to the polystyrene block size and the dispersity of the PDMA-b-PS block copolymer. Surprisingly, the dispersity of the polymer was shown not to be affecting the standard deviation of the pores. As a consequence, RAFT could be seen as a viable alternative to the aforementioned controlled polymerization reactions for the synthesis of structure-directing agents enabling the formation of mesoporous pore size-controlled TiO2. To examine the photocatalytic activity of the mesoporous TiO2 thin layers, the degradation of acetaldehyde, a known indoor pollutant, was studied. Even after 3 years of aging, the TiO2 thin layer retained most of its activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00222461
- Volume :
- 55
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Materials Science
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 139722690
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-04024-3