Abstract
Self-assembled TiO2 nanoparticulate materials with well-defined spherical morphologies were synthesized by using a biopolymer sodium alginate as a template under different synthesis conditions. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used to characterize the TiO2 nanoparticles. N-2 sorption analysis revealed the moderately good surface area (124.0 m(2) g(-1)) and pore volume (0.44 cm(3) g(-1)) of these TiO2 nanoparticles. The biopolymer templating pathway leads to good-quality self-assembled TiO2 nanoparticles with dimensions of ca. 10-12 nm within the synthesis temperature range of 0-60 degrees C. These porous TiO2 nanomaterials showed high photogenerated current in the presence of a dye (Rose Bengal), used as a sensitizer for several photo on/off cycles.