Ordered mesoporous carbon-titania composites and their enhanced photocatalytic properties

A series of ordered mesoporous titania-carbon composites was synthesized by self-assembly of carbon and titania precursors in the presence of Pluronic F127 block copolymer as a template under acidic conditions. Resorcinol and formaldehyde were used as carbon precursors and titanium isopropoxide was employed as titania precursor. Pluronic F127 [poly(ethylene oxide) - poly(propylene oxide) - poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer] was employed as a soft template. The controlled polymerization of phenolic resin precursors and condensation of titania precursor in hydrophilic domains of the block copolymer template followed by carbonization resulted in ordered mesoporous titania-carbon composites. These composites possessed uniform ordered cylindrical mesopores (7-8 nm) created by thermal decomposition of the soft template, crystalline titania particles (anatase phase, 7-8 nm) embedded in the carbon matrix, and high percentage of titania (up to 48%). N2 adsorption analysis showed that the aforementioned composites exhibited large surface area (close to reaching 600 m(2)/g) and enhanced photocatalytic activity toward photodegradation of rhodomine B due to the presence of titania nanoparticles uniformly dispersed in the carbon mesostructure.