Fast preparation of porous anatase material via CuO‐mediated glass crystallization and acid‐leaching

Abstract

AbstractAs an attempt to facilitate the mass production of porous anatase catalysts in industry, in this work, frits with molar ratios of MgO:TiO2:P2O5 = 20:32:24 and an extra addition of CuO (0, 8, 16, and 24 mol%) were first prepared by melt water‐quenching method. The frits were further heat‐ and acid‐treated, forming porous anatase consisting of nanosheets. The study showed that the CuO‐containing samples had increasing crystallization of anatase and even the crystallization of CuO nano‐rods. The easy dissolution of CuO nano‐rods and the abundant grain boundaries in the heat‐treated samples provided path for the acid‐leaching and greatly accelerated the selective dissolution of the crystallized samples, reducing the acid‐leaching time from 48 h for the CuO‐free sample to 3 h for the sample containing 24 mol% CuO to form a similar porous structure. The preformed anatase acted as nucleus to induce the in situ growth of anatase nanosheets. As a result, CuO greatly fastened the formation of porous anatase, making the industrial production of porous anatase possible.