Self-assembled synthesis of porous TiO₂ film on the electrophoretic-deposited titanate nanoribbon film

Abstract

The porous TiO₂ film was self-assembled on the surface of electrophoretic-deposited titanate nanoribbon film without the addition of templates by using TiF₄ as the precursor. It was found that the hydrolysis of TiF₄ was accompanied with the self-assembly processes of TiO₂ nanoparticles on the surface of electrophoretic-deposited titanate nanoribbon film, resulting in the formation of porous TiO₂ structures. Titanate nanoribbon film was demonstrated to provide the active sites for the effective self-assembly of porous TiO₂ nanostructures owing to a large amount of hydroxyl groups. Compared with the nonporous TiO₂ film, the prepared porous TiO₂ films obviously showed an enhanced photocatalytic activity, which could be attributed to the rapider diffusion and more efficient transport of various reactants and products during photocatalytic reaction in the porous structures.

Keywords

electrophoretic deposition / porous / self-assembly / film / template-free

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