Green and Ultrafast Preparation of TiO₂ Aerogel Assisted by Mechanical Ball Milling

TiO₂ aerogel is a uniquely promising photocatalyst that has been widely applied in water environment remediation. Despite continuous advances in its synthesis methods, bottlenecks such as long preparation cycles, large organic solvent consumption, and high production costs still restrict its large-scale application. This work presents a mechanical force-assisted (MFA) strategy for green and ultrafast TiO₂ aerogel preparation, with process intensification as its core innovation. The total preparation time is reduced by 60%, and n-hexane consumption is decreased by 25%. BET, XRD and TEM characterizations confirm that the MFA-derived TiO₂ aerogel maintains physicochemical properties comparable to the conventional sample, and its photocatalytic reaction rate constant for tetracycline hydrochloride degradation is approximately twice that of the original sample.