Abstract
Polyhedral and wormhole-like mesoporous titania nanoparticles composed of TiO2(B) and anatase (rutile) were successfully synthesized by hydrothermal self-assembly method employing, respectively polyacrylamide (AA), polyvinyl alcohol (VA) and polyoxyethyl lauryl ether (ELE) as templates. TEM, X-ray diffraction, FOR, UV-vis DR spectroscopy and N-2 sorptiometry were used for the characterization of surface morphology, phase composition, electronic properties and surface texturing of the synthesized catalysts. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated via the photo-reduction of nitrate in aqueous solution under UV light irradiation. The TiO2 catalyst derived from ELE presented the highest activity due to the alternate structure of anatase and TiO2(B) phases. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.