Porous Hollow TiO2 Microparticles for Photocatalysis: Exploiting Novel ABC Triblock Terpolymer Templates Synthesised in Supercritical CO2

Ryan Larder, Thomas Bennett, Leo Blankenship, Jesum Fernandes, Bethany Husband, Rachel Atkinson, Matthew Derry, Daniel T.W. Toolan, Higor Centurion, Paul Topham, Renato Goncalves, Vincenzo Taresco, Steven M. Howdle*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) mediated dispersion polymerisation in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) is an efficient and green method for synthesising block copolymer microparticles with internal nanostructures. Here we report for the first time the synthesis of phase separated poly(methyl methacrylate-block-styrene-block-4-vinylpyridine) (PMMA-b-PS-b-P4VP) triblock terpolymer microparticles using a simple two-pot sequential synthesis procedure in scCO2, with high monomer conversions and no purification steps. The microparticles, produced directly and without further processing, show a complex internal nanostructure, appearing as a “lamellar with spheres” [L + S(II)] type morphology. The P4VP block is then exploited as a structure-directing agent for the fabrication of TiO2 microparticles. Through a simple and scalable sol–gel and calcination process we produce hollow TiO2 microparticles with a mesoporous outer shell. When directly compared to porous TiO2 particles fabricated using an equivalent PMMA-b-P4VP diblock copolymer, increased surface area and enhanced photocatalytic efficiencies are observed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2904-2913
Number of pages10
JournalPolymer Chemistry
Volume12
Issue number19
Early online date22 Apr 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 May 2021

Bibliographical note

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.

Funding: Engineering and Physical Science
Research Council (EPSRC) for their support of this project, as
part of the Low Dimensional Materials and Interfaces (LDMI)
doctoral training programme (EP/N50970X/1)

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