Bulky Macroporous TiO2 Photocatalyst with Cellular Structure via Facile Wood-Template Method

We report a bulky macroporous TiO2 particles with cellular structure prepared in the presence of wood slices as template. Firstly, TiO2 sol was coated onto the wood slices by repeated dip-coating process. Then, after calcinations at 550 degrees C, the wood template could be removed, and the bulky TiO2 structure was obtained. The prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques. XRD pattern confirmed the crystalline phase of the wood-templated TiO2 is anatase phase. And interestingly, from the observation of SEM image, the wood-templated TiO2 inherited the initial cellular structures of birch lumber (B. albosinensis Burk), and numerousmacropores were observed in the sample. Meanwhile, the wood-templated TiO2 presented a superior photocatalytic ability to decompose Rhodamine B (RhB) under ultraviolet irradiation.