Synthesis and characterization of TiO2-incorporated silica foams

Titania-incorporated silica (TiO2–SiO2) porous materials have great applications in diverse areas. In this work, TiO2–SiO2 porous materials with tunable Si/Ti molar ratio (R) have been successfully prepared through a one-pot method under a near-neutral condition. With decreasing Si/Ti R, a phase transition from a macroporous foam-like structure to mesostructure is observed. The resultant TiO2–SiO2 porous materials possess large surface areas and high pore volumes. In addition, the titania species are homogenously dispersed in silica matrix when Si/Ti R ≥ 10. Our contribution provides a convenient method to synthesize TiO2/SiO2 porous materials with very large pore size, high pore volume, and relatively high titania content well dispersed in the silica wall framework