Synthesis and characterization of amorphous TiO 2 with wormhole-like framework mesostructure Yu-de Wang, Chun-lai Ma * , Xiao-dan Sun, Heng-de Li Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, PeopleÕs Republic of China Received 18 April 2002; received in revised form 4 October 2002 Abstract Using neutral amine surfactant (dodecylamine) as an organic template and neutral inorganic material (tetrabutyl titanate) as a precursor, amorphous TiO 2 with wormhole-like framework mesostructure was synthesized with the variation of surfactant-to-Ti alkoxide ratios. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transformed infrared spectra, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen adsorption–desorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) have been used to characterize the TiO 2 mesostructure. The interaction between surfactant and titanium dioxide was displayed by XPS. The samples exhibit a wormhole-like framework from XRD patterns and TEM images, and high surface area (221 m 2 /g) for the sample calcined at 450 °C for 2 h. The formation of the titanium oxide mesostructure is proposed to be due to the presence of the interactions between surfactant head group and inorganic precursors prior to hydrolysis, and the condensation under condition favorable for liquid crystal formation. Ó 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 81.07.Pr; 81.16.Dn; 82.30.Rs; 82.80.Pv 1. Introduction Since the discovery of mesoporous aluminosi- licate materials at Mobil Corporation in 1992 [1,2], much research has been reported on the synthesis of mesoporous molecular sieves. The mesoporous materials were derived with supramolecular as- semblies of surfactants, which acted as templates of the inorganic components during synthesis [3]. Soon afterwards, this technique of using supra- molecular templates to produce materials was considered very promising for preparation of mesophase or mesoporous metal oxides. Titania, especially anatase is attractive for its potential applications, such as photocatalysts [4], electrodes for wet solar cells [5], gas sensor [6] and electrochromic devices [7]. Mesoporous TiO 2 with large surface area offers a prospect to provide a highly active photocatalyst material and is ex- pected to be utilized as materials for high efficient solar cells [8–11]. To date, several preparative ap- proaches utilizing a supramolecular templating mechanism had been reported for the preparation of mesoporous titanium dioxide. Mesoporous TiO 2 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +86-10 6277 2977; fax: +86-10 6277 1160. E-mail address: mcl-dms@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn (C.-l. Ma). 0022-3093/03/$ - see front matter Ó 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0022-3093(02)01956-7 Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 319 (2003) 109–116 www.elsevier.com/locate/jnoncrysol