Non‐Aqueous Preparation of High‐Crystallinity Hierarchical TiO₂ Hollow Spheres with Excellent Photocatalytic Efficiency

Abstract

Abstract High‐crystallinity hierarchical anatase TiO 2 hollow spheres were prepared by a high‐temperature (350 °C) and non‐aqueous solvothermal method in the absence of water, templates, or additives. The hollow structures were assembled from highly crystallized TiO 2 nanoparticles and exhibit superior photocatalytic properties relative to those of Degussa P25 TiO 2 under irradiation with UV light. The influence of reaction temperature on the crystallinity, morphology, crystallite shape and size, band gap, specific surface area, and pore size distribution of TiO 2 has been studied in detail. It is evident that reaction temperature is the most important factor to increase the crystallinity of TiO 2 in order to improve its charge transfer and transport properties, which are important in photocatalysis.