Synthesis of Mesoporous TiO2and Its Application to Photocatalytic Activation of Methylene Blue and E. coli

Mesoporous TiO₂ material was synthesized from diblock copolymers with ethylene oxide chains via a sol-gel process in aqueous solution. The properties of these materials were characterized with several analytical techniques including field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), wide angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) analysis. The mesoporous TiO₂ materials calcined at 400 ∘C were found to have specific surface areas 212 m²g⁻1 , average pore sizes 6.2 nm, and their average crystal sizes were found to be 8.2 nm. The photocatalytic activity of mesoporous TiO₂ was characterized with UV-Vis spectroscopy, and it was found to be 5.8 times higher than that of Degussa P25 TiO₂ (P25). For deactivation of Escherichia coli, mesoporous TiO₂ also has high photocatalytic inactivity than that of P25. Such a high photocatalytic activity is explained with large surface area and small crystal size with wormhole-like mesoporous structure.