Facile synthesis of TiO2 hierarchical tubes with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Abstract Hierarchical micro/nanostructured tubular TiO 2 were prepared by impregnation-calcination method with FCT (the fluff of the chinar tree) as biological template and titanium tetrachloride as precursor. The resultant samples possess curly tubular structure and the exterior outline of the samples look like fried dough twist. Moreover, the wall of the tube is assembled with spherical-likely nanoparticles. Apparently in the process of preparation, the FCT played pivotal roles as substrate and inducer for assembling the curly tubular structure of micro/nanostructured TiO 2 . Furthermore, the micro/nanostructured TiO 2 have abundant pore structures and large surface area, which are beneficial to the improvement of photocatalytic activity. Under UV light irradiation, the as-prepared TiO 2 exhibits nearly 100% photocatalytic decolorization rate in 30 min and 90% TOC (total organic carbon) degradation rate in 60 min for dye methyl orange (MO).