Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic reactions of phosphated mesoporous titania

Mesoporous titania nanoparticles with a well-defined mesostructure was prepared by hydrothermal process, using nonionic triblock copolymer P123 as surfactant template, modified with phosphoric acid and followed by calcination at 600A degrees C. The sol-gel titania was modified by in situ phosphorylation using phosphoric acid and thereby incorporating phosphorous directly into the framework of TiO2. The resulting materials were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, nitrogen adsorption, TGA and DRS. It was found that the structural and optical properties of titania samples are strongly influenced by their phosphate modification. In case of calcined samples a positive effect on the specific surface area for the in situ phosphated sample was found. Mesoporous structure of phosphated titania did not collapse even after calcination at 600A degrees C. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the synthesized phosphate nanomaterials were evaluated through a study of the decomposition of fluorescein under UV light excitation and compared with undoped titania nanomaterial as well as with commercial titania.