Morphological control and strong light scattering in macroporous TiO2 monoliths prepared via a colloid-derived sol-gel route

Macroporous titania (TiO2) monoliths have been prepared via the sol-gel route started from aqueous anatase-type titania colloid in the presence of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and the light-scattering properties have been investigated by means of coherent backscattering. Well-defined macroporous bicontinuous structures are formed when the transient structure of phase separation is fixed as the permanent morphology by the sol-gel transition. The macroporous morphology, i.e., the size and volume fraction of continuous macropores, can be tailored by adjusting the amount and/or molecular weight of PEO and the TiO2 concentration in the starting solution. During the heat treatment at temperatures above 1000 degrees C, the skeleton is sintered into fully dense body, and the crystalline structure is transformed from anatase to rutile phases, while keeping the macroporous morphology. We show that the rutile-type TiO2-based macroporous monoliths are strongly scattering media for visible light and that the scattering strength can be controlled by the macroporous morphology. (c) 2006 NIMS and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.