Layered titanate nanomaterials, traditionally synthesized by alkaline hydrothermal process, have exhibited excellent properties for ion-exchange, catalytic reduction, molecular absorption, photoelectronicity and wettability [1-4]. So far, the synthesis of one and two-dimensional nano-titanate has been widely investigated with many interesting properties reported. For examples, 1D titanate nanotubes, nanowires, nanorods, and 2D titanate nanosheets have been synthesized through hydrothermal, high-temperature oxidation, molten-salt synthesis, and exfoliation methods. However, these approaches either take multiple steps or require a long time in order to ensure complete reaction, which poses a limit to the productivity and often results in high production cost. Here, we discuss a 3D hierarchical titanate micro-spherulite catalysts obtained from a simple, fast, and inexpensive method. The crystal structures of those materials are characterized using X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The obtained titanate powders show relatively good ion-exchange ability and high adsorption rate with toxic Pb2+ ion and the methylene blue dye due to the specific morphology and crystal structure. Based on the 3D hierarchical titanate structures, silver halides/titanate nano-hybrid structures have been synthesized and their visible light degradation performance has been studied. This research work is extended further to a large-scale production of hollow Ag@AgCl cage materials that show superior photocatalytic performance.
- T. Kasuga, M. Hiramatsu, A. Hoson, T. Sekino, and K. Niihara, Langmuir 14, 3160 (1998)
- D.V. Bavykin, J.M. Friedrich, and F.C. Walsh, Adv. Mater. 18, 2807 (2006)
- X.M. Sun and Y.D. Li, Chem. Eur. J. 9, 2229 (2003).
- D.J. Yang, Z.F. Zheng, H.Y. Zhu, H.W. Liu, and X.P. Gao, Adv. Mater. 20, 2777 (2008).