Preparation, Characterization and Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2Formed from a Mesoporous Precursor

A mesoporous TiO2precursor has been prepared by the hydrothermal condensation of tetrabutyltitanate in presence of an alkylamine template by three different methods. The surfactants were removed from as-synthesized TiO2by calcination and solvent extraction methods. A potential photocatalyst, predominantly present as an anatase phase, was produced in the latter case. The samples were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, low-temperature N2adsorption-desorption measurement and solid state UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of all TiO2samples were compared using the degradation of phenol as a probe reaction.