TiO2-pillared clays with well-ordered porous structure and excellent photocatalytic activity

TiO2-pillared clays with well-ordered porous structures are successfully prepared via incorporating TiO2 nanosol particles into the clays, where empty octahedral sites are partially modified with divalent metal ions such as Mg2+ and Fe2+. The prepared TiO2-pillared mica exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity, which can be controlled by tuning the optical transparency of clay support rather than the specific surface area of the hybrid catalysts.