Controlled synthesis of porous flower-like TiO2 nanostructure with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Flower-like TiO2 nanostructures were successfully synthesized via the urea homogeneous precipitation method using (NH4)(2)TiF6 as a titanium source in aqueous solution. This approach was simple, environmentally friendly and without using template. The flower-like TiO2 nanostructures were characterized in detail with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-vis spectrum, respectively. The flower-like TiO2 nanostructures, with diameters ranging from 150-300 nm, were, assembled by primary nanoparticles and the length of the petals was approximately 60 nm. Interestingly, the surface of the flower-like TiO2 nanostructures appeared to have many pores with diameters of 10-13 urn after the sample being calcined at 550 C, while the morphologies and sizes of the TiO2 samples did not change. The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared samples was evaluated by photo-degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) from aqueous solution at ambient temperature. The flower-like porous TiO2 samples exhibited much higher photocatalytic activity than the flower-like TiO2 samples. All these advantages showed a bright future for this flower-like porous photocatalyst in environmental protection. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.