Preparation of mesoporous titania particles using ionic liquid dissolving starch as templates

A mesoporous titania photocatalyst was prepared via calcining the solution of ionic liquid (1-methyl-3-butyl imidazolium bromide, BMIM]Br) containing tetrabutyl titanate (TBT) and starch. The microstructure of the prepared mesoporous titania was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherm. The results indicate that the resulting mesoporous titania has a grain size of about 13.9 nm, a special surface area of 106 m²/g, and a pore volume of 0.22 cm³/g, and the pore size can be adjusted by the concentration of starch in ionic liquid. The photocatalytic activity of mesoporous titania in the degradation of methyl orange solution was determined. The effect of the specific surface area of mesoporous titania on the photocatalytic activity was also studied. The prepared mesoporous titania exhibits a high catalytic activity.