Probing the Effects of Templating on the UV and Visible Light Photocatalytic Activity of Porous Nitrogen-Modified Titania Monoliths for Dye Removal

Abstract

Porous nitrogen-modified titania (N-titania) monoliths with tailored morphologies were prepared using phase separation and agarose gel templating techniques. The doping and templating process were simultaneously carried out in a one-pot step using alcohol amine-assisted sol-gel chemistry. The amount of polymer used in the monoliths that were prepared using phase separation was shown to affect both the physical and optical properties: higher poly(ethylene glycol) content increased the specific surface area, porosity, and visible light absorption of the final materials. For the agarose-templated monoliths, the infiltration conditions affected the monolith morphology. A porous monolith with high surface area and the least shrinkage was obtained when the N containing alkoxide precursor was infiltrated into the agarose scaffolds at 60 °C. The effect of the diverse porous morphologies on the photocatalytic activity of N-titania was studied for the decomposition of methylene blue (MB) under visible and UV light irradiation. The highest visible light activity was achieved by the agarose-templated N-titania monolith, in part due to higher N incorporation. This sample also showed better UV activity, partly because of the higher specific surface area (up to 112 m(2) g(-1)) compared to the phase separation-induced monoliths (up to 103 m(2) g(-1)). Overall, agarose-templated, porous N-titania monoliths provided better features for effectively removing the MB contaminant.