Synthesis and characterization of mesoporous titania using a synthetic (Pluronic P123) and a natural (Gum Arabic) templating agent

Mesoporous titania was prepared using a sol-gel method with a synthetic (Pluronic P123) and a natural (Gum Arabic) templating agent. The precursor used was titanium methoxide, and the aims of this study were to compare the effects of a synthetic and natural template on the physical-chemical properties of the titania product, elucidate the effect of the surfactants on the pore size, specific surface area and overall structure of the mesoporous material. The synthesized titania materials were characterized by Xray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen sorption at 77 K, Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) techniques. From the XRD analysis, all the samples showed phases of anatase and rutile, while the DRS measurements revealed a decrease in band gap for samples prepared with P123, and samples prepared with Gum Arabic also showed a decrease in the band gap, when compared to bulk titania. Moreover, the BET surface area of the P123 samples was 65.34 m²/g and that with Gum Arabic was 41.75 m²/g.