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°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 numerous macropores were observed in the sample. Meanwhile, the wood-templated TiO2 presented a superior photocatalytic ability to decompose Rhodamine B (RhB) under ultraviolet irradiation