Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brush Nanoreactor: Preparation of Hollow TiO2 Nanospheres and Characterization by Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

• Published in: Chinese journal of polymer science Vol. 42; no. 9; pp. 1393 - 1400
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yu-Hua, Zhang, Zi-Yu, Liu, Xin, Ma, En-Guang, Guo, Jiang-Tao, Li, Li, Guo, Xu-Hong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Nature Singapore 01.09.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Ammonia; Anatase; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid; Electron density; Electrons; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Methylene blue; Muffle furnaces; Nanospheres; Photon correlation spectroscopy; Polyelectrolytes; Polymer Sciences; Recyclability; Research Article; Small angle X ray scattering; Titanium; Titanium dioxide; X-ray scattering; Hollow titanium dioxide; Spherical polyelectrolyte brush; Nanoreactor
• ISSN: 0256-7679; 1439-6203
• DOI: 10.1007/s10118-024-3202-9

Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) hollow nanoparticles present significant potential for photocatalytic applications while their straightforward preparation with precise structure control is still challenging. This work reports the approach to preparing tunable hollow TiO 2 nanospheres by utilization of spherical polyelectrolyte brushes (SPB) as nanoreactors and templates. During the preparation, the evolution of the structure was characterized by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and in combination with dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. The formation of TiO 2 shell within the brush (SPB@TiO 2 ) is confirmed by the significant increase of the electron density, and its internal structure has been analyzed by fitting SAXS data, which can be influenced by Titanium precursors and ammonia concentration. After calcining SPB@TiO 2 in a muffle furnace, hollow TiO 2 nanospheres are produced, and their transition to the anatase crystal form is triggered, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Utilizing the advantages of their hollow structure, these TiO 2 nanospheres exhibit exceptional catalytic degradation efficiency of methylene blue (MB), tetracycline (TC), and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), and also demonstrate excellent recyclability.