Preparation and characterization of TiO₂ based on wood templates

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) was prepared from four natural wood spices that served as templates. The wood templates were impregnated by a titanium dioxide precursor and then underwent high-temperature calcination to obtain TiO₂ with a wood-like hierarchical porous structure. The microstructure of TiO₂ based on the wood template was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption-desorption tests. The formaldehyde adsorption and degradation properties of TiO₂ based on a wood template are discussed. The results showed that TiO₂ based on a wood template could effectively replicate the micro- and mesoscopic pore structure of wood, and the pore size distribution in the TiO₂ ranged from 1 to 100 nm. The TiO₂ that was prepared based on a wood template showed a certain adsorption effect on formaldehyde under visible light, and the photocatalytic degradation of a formaldehyde solution was achieved when irritated by ultraviolet light. In addition, the properties of the TiO₂ prepared by different tree species was also different. The TiO₂ prepared by larch and Chinese fir exhibited a large specific surface area, pore volume, and high degradation efficiency of formaldehyde solution. After 280 min of irradiation with an ultraviolet light source, the degradation rates of the formaldehyde solution were 19.91% and 18.85%.