A facile template-free synthesis of pH-responsive polyelectrolyte/amorphous TiO sub(2) composite hollow microcapsules for photocatalysis

• Published in: RSC advances Vol. 5; no. 73; pp. 59257 - 59262
• Main Authors: Bang, Ki-Tae, Lim, Hyung-Seok, Park, Seong-Jin, Suh, Kyung-Do
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.07.2015
• Subjects: Crosslinking; Ethylene glycol; Microspheres; Photocatalysis; Polyelectrolytes; Sol gel process; Surface chemistry; Titanium dioxide
• ISSN: 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/c5ra06231d

This paper presents a novel, facile method for fabricating pH-responsive inorganic/organic composite microspheres with hollow structures in the absence of a step for the removal of the core. Using polyelectrolyte (hydrogel) hollow microspheres without a need for further calcination and chemical etching, minimally cross-linked poly(methacrylic acid/ethylene glycol dimethacrylate/3-(trimethoxysilyl) propylmethacrylate), poly(MAA/EGDMA/TMSPM) [pMET] microspheres were prepared by a distillation-precipitation method. Once the pMET microspheres disperse in 2-propanol, the hollow structure is clearly observed and can be maintained more rigidly in a dry state after amorphous TiO sub(2) (a-TiO sub(2)) is incorporated into the shell of a microsphere by a sol-gel method. The a-TiO sub(2)-incorporated pH-responsive pMET composite [pMET/TiO sub(2)] hollow microspheres were tested as a photocatalyst in acidic and neutral conditions. The photocatalytic performance of the hollow pMET/TiO sub(2) composite microcapsules under neutral condition was better than that under acidic conditions due to their large active surface and strong adsorption ability against methylene blue (MB).