Photocatalytic Mesoporous Titania Thin Films on Porous Substrate through the Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly Method

Mesoporous titania with accessible hexagonally close-packed (HCP) pores have been layered onto a macroporous support (anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane). These composite membranes have been characterized through SEM imaging, solvent flux measurements, X-ray diffraction, and Grazing-Incidence Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (GISAXS) experiments. These membranes were made by first altering the AAO support to be chemically neutral to the deposition of titania with the pore templating surfactant, Pluronic F127, then using a sol-gel method of preparation using titania tetrachloride as a precursor, and through evaporation-induced self-assembly, a porous layer of titania was deposited onto the surface of the AAO support. These membranes were then calcinated to remove the surfactant. Further these membrane’s photocatalytic properties were tested in a batch system using methylene blue as a model pollutant.