Self-assembled mesoporous TiO2 spherical nanoparticles by a new templating pathway and its enhanced photoconductivity in the presence of an organic dye

Abstract

The supramolecular assembly of ionic/non-ionic surfactants has been extensively employed as a template or structure directing agent (SDA) in the synthesis of a large variety of mesoporous materials over the past one and a half decades. Herein, we report the first highly efficient synthesis strategy for self-assembled mesoporous TiO₂ materials with well-defined crystal morphologies using sodium salicylate as a template. Mesoporous TiO₂ nanoparticles showed a drastically enhanced photoelectrochemical response under visible light irradiation after entrapping a photosensitizer molecule (dye) inside the mesopores. The efficient synthesis strategy and enhanced photoresponse of these mesoporous TiO₂ materials could facilitate the design of other porous semiconductor oxides and their applications in photon-to-electron conversion processes.