Highly photocatalytic TiO2 interconnected porous powder fabricated by sponge-templated atomic layer deposition.

A titanium dioxide (TiO₂) interconnected porous structure has been fabricated by means of atomic layer deposition of TiO₂ onto a reticular sponge template. The obtained freestanding TiO₂ with large surface area can be easily taken out of the water to solve a complex separation procedure. A compact and conformal nanocoating was evidenced by morphologic characterization. A phase transition, as well as production of oxygen vacancies with increasing annealing temperature, was detected by x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The photocatalytic experimental results demonstrated that the powder with appropriate annealing treatment possessed excellent photocatalytic ability due to the co-action of high surface area, oxygen vacancies and the optimal crystal structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]