A novel macroporous structure of mesoporous titanias: synthesis and characterisation

Mesoporous titania materials with a novel macroporous structure have been synthesized by a one-step simple method in the presence of poly(ethylene oxide) surfactant. The three-dimensional, bicontinuous macroporous structures are in the interiors of the mesoporous titania particles with a uniform pore size gradient. The mesopores are disordered, wormhole-like, formed by the agglomeration of titania nanoparticles with anatase phase. The mesopore size can be modified from microporous to mesoporous range by tuning the synthesis time. The formation mechanism of the macro-mesostructured titanias is proposed.