Super-hydrophobic fluorination mesoporous MCF/TiO2 composite as a high-performance photocatalyst

NH4F was used instead of conventional organic silylation agent as the hydrophobic modifier to synthesize the super-hydrophobic mesocellular foams (MCF) loaded with nano-sized TiO2 photocatalysts in its pore channels, which could be considered as an extractant for organics. Compared to organosilane modified catalysts, NH4F-modified MCF/TiO2 has a more stable super-hydrophobic property and much higher photocatalytic activity. It was found that only using isopropanol as the solvent, the NH4F-modified catalyst showed super-hydrophobic property. It is believed that the solvent plays a role in controlling the exchange between surface OH groups and F ions. The special structure of supported mesoporous catalyst greatly facilitated the surface fluorination, which together with the Ti3+ generation led to its excellent adsorption capacity and UV/visible light photocatalytic activity. This novel super-hydrophobic mesoporous photocatalyst has a large application potential in the field of photocatalysis, shipbuilding, and other industries.