Physical properties of nano-titania hollow fibers and their photocatalytic activity in the decomposition of phenol

A series of nano-titania (TiO₂) photocatalytic materials with a hollow fiber structure were successfully prepared using tetra-n-butyl titanate (Ti(OC₄H₉)₄) as precursor and cotton fiber as the template. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and N₂ adsorption-desorption measurements were employed to characterize the morphology, crystal structure, and surface structure of the samples. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were studied by phenol photodegradation in water under UV irradiation. The effect of calcination temperature, photocatalyst dosage, initial concentration of phenol and irradiation time on the photodegradation of phenol was studied. Results showed that the TiO₂ fiber materials have hollow structures, indicating that these materials had a large specific surface area. The fiber structure material showed better photocatalytic properties for the degradation of phenol than pure TiO₂ under UV light, and the sample calcined at 500°C exhibited the highest phenol photodegradation efficiency. In addition, the possibility of cyclic usage of the photocatalyst was also confirmed, the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ fiber remained ca. 90% of photocatalytic activity of the fresh sample after being used four times. Moreover, TiO₂ fiber was easily recovered by centrifugal separation from water.     

Preparation of Ce‐doped TiO2 Hollow Fibers and Their Photocatalytic Degradation Properties for Dye Compound

Cerium‐doped titanium dioxide (TiO₂) with a hollow fiber structure was successfully prepared using ammonium ceric nitrate and tetrabutyltitanate as precursors and cotton fiber as the template. The effects of cerium (Ce)‐doping on the crystallite sizes, crystal pattern, and optical property of the prepared catalysts were investigated by means of techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area, and UV‐vis diffuse absorption spectroscopy. SEM observation showed that the prepared TiO₂ fibers possessed fibrous shape inherited from the cotton fiber and had a hollow structure. As confirmed by XRD and UV‐vis diffuse absorption spectroscopy examinations, Ce‐doping restrained the growth of grain size and extended the photoabsorption edge of TiO₂ hollow fiber into the visible light region. The present photocatalyst showed higher photocatalytic reactivity in photodegradation of highly concentrated methylene blue (MB) solutions than pure TiO₂ under UV and visible light, and the amount of Ce‐doped significantly affected the catalytic property. In the experiment condition, the photocatalytic activity of 0.5 mol% Ce‐doped TiO₂ fiber was optimal of all the prepared samples. In addition, the possibility of cyclic usage of the photocatalyst was also confirmed. The material was easily removed by centrifugal separation. Therefore, using the template method and by doping with cerium, TiO₂ may hopefully become a low‐energy consuming, high activity and green environmentally friendly catalytic material.     

Microwave‐Hydrothermal Preparation and Visible‐Light Photoactivity of Plasmonic Photocatalyst Ag‐TiO2 Nanocomposite Hollow Spheres

Visible‐light‐driven plasmonic photocatalyst Ag‐TiO₂ nanocomposite hollow spheres are prepared by a template‐free chemically‐induced self‐transformation strategy under microwave‐hydrothermal conditions, followed by a photochemical reduction process under xenon lamp irradiation. The prepared samples are characterized by using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption‐desorption isotherms, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV/Vis and Raman spectroscopy. Production of ?OH radicals on the surface of visible‐light illuminated TiO₂ was detected by using a photoluminescence method with terephthalic acid as the probe molecule. The photocatalytic activity of as‐prepared samples was evaluated by photocatalytic decolorization of Rhodamine B (RhB) aqueous solution at ambient temperature under visible‐light irradiation. The results show that the surface plasmon absorption band of the silver nanoparticles supported on the TiO₂ hollow spheres was red shifted, and a strong surface enhanced Raman scattering effect for the Ag‐TiO₂ nanocomposite sample was observed. The prepared nanocomposite hollow spheres exhibits a highly visible‐light photocatalytic activity for photocatalytic degradation of RhB in water, and their photocatalytic activity is higher than that of pure TiO₂ and commercial Degussa P25 (P25) powders. Especially, the as‐prepared Ag‐TiO₂ nanocomposite hollow spheres at the nominal atomic ratio of silver to titanium ( R ) of 2 showed the highest photocatalytic activity, which exceeds that of P25 by a factor of more than 2.     

Preparation,Characterization and Photocatalytic Activity of Fe,La Co-doped Nanometer Titanium Dioxide Photocatalysts

A series of photocatalysts of un-doped, single-doped and co-doped nanometer titanium diox-ide (TiO₂) have been successfully prepared by template method using Fe(NO₃)₃·9H₂O, La(NO₃)₃·6H₂O, and tetrabutyl titanate as precursors and glucan as template. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and N₂ adsorption-desorption measurement were em-ployed to characterize the morphology, crystal structure and surface structure of the samples. The photo-absorbance of the obtained catalysts was measured by UV-Vis absorption spec-troscopy, and the photocatalytic activities of the prepared samples under UV and visible light were estimated by measuring the degradation rate of methyl orange in an aqueous solu-tion. The characterizations indicated that the prepared photocatalysts consisted of anatase phase and possessed high surface area of ca. 163-176 m²/g. It was shown that the Fe and La co-doped nano-TiO₂ could be activated by visible light and could thus be used as an effective catalyst in photo-oxidation reactions. The synergistic effect of Fe and La co-doping played an important role in improving the photocatalytic activity. In addition, the possibil-ity of cyclic usage of co-doped nano-TiO₂ was also confirmed, the photocatalytic activity of codoped nano-TiO₂ remained above 89.6% of the fresh sample after being used four times.     

Modification of the Optical and Electronic Properties of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> By N Anion-Doping for Augmentation of the Visible Light Assisted Photocatalytic Performance

In this work, a nitrogen-doped anatase TiO₂ nanocrystal is prepared by a modified sol-gel preparation method using the nonionic surfactant (polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate) as a structural controller and a soft template. The as-prepared samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, UVVis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. Then the photocatalytic activity of these samples is assessed by the photocatalytic oxidation of phenol under visible light irradiation. The phenol concentration is measured using a UV-Vis spectrometer. Experimental results show that N-doping leads to an excellent visible light photocatalytic activity of the TiO₂ nanocatalyst. Furthermore, the formation energy and electronic structure of pure and N-doped anatase TiO₂ are described by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It is found that N-doping narrowed the band gap of bare TiO₂, which leads to an excellent visible light photocatalytic activity of N–TiO₂ nanocatalysts. Therefore, the prepared N–TiO₂ photocatalyst is expected to find the use in organic pollutant degradation under solar light illumination.     

可见光响应的铁掺杂TiO_2中空微球的制备及其光催化性能

以聚苯乙烯微球作为模板,水溶性过氧化钛配合物作为前驱体一步合成了掺铁TiO2中空微球,并利用XRD,SEM,TEM,XPS,UV-Vis等测试手段对样品进行了表征。结果表明,一步法制备的掺铁TiO2中空微球以锐钛矿相存在且具有良好的中空结构,掺杂少量铁到体系中,改变了其电子结构,使其吸收波长拓展到可见光区。光催化降解亚甲基蓝溶液的结果表明,掺杂0.75%铁的TiO2中空微球表现出更好的光催化性能。对Fe3+影响光催化活性的机理进行了讨论。     

Photocatalytic Activity of Fibrous Ti/Ce Oxides Obtained by Hydrothermal Impregnation of Short Flax Fibers

Fibrous Ti/Ce oxide photocatalysts were prepared for the first time by a biomimetic solution process using short flax fibers (flax straw processing waste) as a biotemplate. Titanium polyhydroxy complex solutions with 3% and 5% cerium were used as precursors. Flax fibers were impregnated in an autoclave under hydrothermal conditions. Ti/Ce oxides were obtained from the biotemplate by annealing at 600 °C. The photocatalytic activity of the Ti/Ce oxides was studied by the adsorption and decomposition of the dye rhodamine B under UV irradiation. The photocatalytic decomposition of the dye was 50% and 75% faster for Ti/Ce oxides with 3% and 5% Ce, respectively, than for the analogous undoped fibrous TiO₂. The morphologies, textures, and structures of the photocatalysts were studied by scanning electron microscopy, low temperature N₂ adsorption/desorption, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and X-ray and XPS analytical methods. It was shown that the introduction of Ce into the precursor solution increased the surface irregularity of the Ti/Ce oxide crystallites compared to pure TiO₂. This effect scaled with the Ce concentration. Ce improved the UV light absorption of the material. The Ti/Ce oxides contained Ce⁴⁺/Ce³⁺ pairs that played an important role in redox processes and intensified the photocatalytic activity.     

Preparation of magnetically supported chromium and sulfur co-doped TiO2 and use for photocatalysis under visible light

Novel magnetic chromium and sulfur co-doped TiO₂ photocatalysts (M-Cr/S/TiO₂) have been prepared by a sol?Cgel process, using magnetic hollow fly ash microspheres as support material. The crystal phase of M-Cr/S/TiO₂ was characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV?Cvisible absorption spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the photocatalysts was examined by photodegradation of methyl orange in aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The results showed that chromium and sulfur co-doped catalysts (Cr/S/TiO₂) containing 0.60?% (atomic ratio) chromium and 1.2?% (atomic ratio) sulfur calcined at 450?°C for 2?h had high catalytic efficiency under visible irradiation. It is worth mentioning that the floating M-Cr/S/TiO₂ catalyst had greater photocatalytic activity than Cr/S/TiO₂ powder. Therefore, M-Cr/S/TiO₂ is a promising, high-performing, visible-light-driven photocatalyst.     

Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of nanocrystalline TiO2 co-doped with nitrogen and cobalt(II)

Nitrogen-modified cobalt-doped TiO₂ materials were successfully prepared via a modified sol–gel method. The structure and properties of the catalysts were characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM, ultraviolet–visible light diffuse reflectance spectra (UV–Vis DRS), N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The XRD patterns of the pure and co-doped TiO₂ samples indicate that the predominant phase was anatase. The average grain size obtained from TEM was approximately 10 nm. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis results indicate that the specific surface area was 77.7 m² g^?1. The UV–Vis DRS results for the co-doped sample reveal an absorption edge that had been red-shifted to 500 nm. The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated through photodegradation of papermaking wastewater under UV and visible light irradiation. Compared with the cobalt-doped TiO₂ sample and Degussa P25, the 3 mol% N-doped mesoporous N/Co-TiO₂ photocatalyst exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity, which can be ascribed to the synergistic effect of the N and Co co-doping.     

硼铈共掺杂纳米TiO2光催化降解三氯杀螨醇和菊酯类农药

采用溶胶-凝胶法在钛酸丁酯水解过程引入硼酸、硝酸铈,制备具有光催化活性的硼铈共掺杂纳米二氧化钛（TiO2）,经XRD、TEM、FT-IR、UV-Vis-DRS表征晶体结构,在日光灯照射下,光催化降解三氯杀螨醇、高氟氯氰菊酯、氟戊菊酯农药。结果表明：硼铈共掺杂的TiO2只有锐钛矿型,而纯的或掺铈的TiO2有含有锐钛矿型、金红石相和少量板钛矿型,UV-Vis-DRS测定结果表明硼铈共掺杂的TiO2禁带宽度变小,硼铈共掺杂的TiO2在可见光区吸光度高于掺杂铈和不掺杂的TiO2,在420nm~850nm有强的吸收;在同样光照下对三氯杀螨醇、高氟氯氰菊酯、氟戊菊酯的降解试验证明硼铈共掺杂纳米TiO2的光催化活性高于不掺杂或只掺杂铈的TiO2。     

锌离子掺杂的二氧化钛介孔空心微球的制备及光催化性能

以二氧化硅为模板,钛酸四丁酯（TBOT）为钛源,硝酸锌为锌源,采用溶胶凝胶法制备了锌离子掺杂的介孔二氧化钛空心微球。采用X射线衍射（XRD）、比表面积（BET）、透射电镜（TEM）、扫描电镜（SEM）和X射线光电子能谱（XPS）等技术对样品进行表征,以亚甲基蓝（MB）的光催化降解为目标反应评价其光催化活性。结果表明,去核之后的复合微球为空心微球,壁厚为20nm左右。钛酸四丁酯溶液的滴加时间对微球的形貌影响较大,当滴加时间大于15min时,可以得到结构清晰的空心微球。用氢氧化钠溶液去除二氧化硅核,反应90min,二氧化硅可以被完全去除。X射线衍射表明,实验得到的掺杂锌离子的空心微球和没有掺杂锌离子的空心微球都是锐钛矿。当锌离子的摩尔分数为0.3%时,二氧化钛空心微球的晶粒尺寸最小,比表面积最大,催化亚甲基蓝降解的效率最高。     

锌离子掺杂的二氧化钛介孔空心微球的制备及光催化性能

以二氧化硅为模板,钛酸四丁酯(TBOT)为钛源,硝酸锌为锌源,采用溶胶凝胶法制备了锌离子掺杂的介孔二氧化钛空心微球。采用X射线衍射(XRD)、比表面积(BET)、透射电镜(TEM)、扫描电镜(SEM)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)等技术对样品进行表征,以亚甲基蓝(MB)的光催化降解为目标反应评价其光催化活性。结果表明,去核之后的复合微球为空心微球,壁厚为20 nm左右。钛酸四丁酯溶液的滴加时间对微球的形貌影响较大,当滴加时间大于15 min时,可以得到结构清晰的空心微球。用氢氧化钠溶液去除二氧化硅核,反应90 min,二氧化硅可以被完全去除。X射线衍射表明,实验得到的掺杂锌离子的空心微球和没有掺杂锌离子的空心微球都是锐钛矿。当锌离子的摩尔分数为0.3%时,二氧化钛空心微球的晶粒尺寸最小,比表面积最大,催化亚甲基蓝降解的效率最高。     

Silver Nanoparticles Filling in TiO2 Hollow Nanofibers by Coaxial Electrospinning

This study investigated the coaxial electrospinning process of silver filling in TiO₂ ultrafine hollow fibers using polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) sol/titanium n-butyloxide (Ti(OC₄H₉)₄) and PVP sol/silver nanoparticles as pore-directing agents. The bicomponent fibers were heat treated at 200 °C and calcined at 600 °C. Silver particles having diameters of 5 to 40 nm were deposited on the inner surface of the long hollow TiO₂ nanofibers (outer diameter of 150.300 nm) with mesoporous walls (thickness of 10.20 nm). The morphological structure of the filled ultrafine hollow fibers has been studied by means of infrared (IR) spectrum, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The diameters and wall thicknesses of the hollow fibers could be tuned by adjusting the electrospinning parameters. Compared with other nanostructured TiO₂ materials, such as mesoporous Ag-TiO₂ blending fibers, TiO₂ hollow nanofibers, TiO₂ nanofibers, and TiO₂ powders, the silver filled TiO₂ hollow fibers exhibited a higher photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of methylene blue.     

共沉淀法制备稀土Ce掺杂的纳米ZnO及其光催化降解染料的性能

以六水合硝酸锌和六水合硝酸铈?髥为原料,通过共沉淀法制备了一系列稀土Ce掺杂的纳米ZnO,并采用X射线粉末衍射(XRD)、傅里叶红外光谱(IR)、扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线能谱分析(EDS)、紫外可见漫反射光谱对其进行了全面表征。部分样品还通过X射线光电子能谱(XPS)和光致荧光光谱(PL)进行了进一步分析。分别在日光和紫外光条件下,对这一系列Ce掺杂的ZnO进行了光催化降解亚甲基蓝的性能研究,得出当Ce的掺杂量为3%(n/n)时(ZnO-3%Ce),其光催化活性最佳,光催化降解亚甲基蓝的效率均超过98%。选取ZnO-3%Ce作为催化剂,分别进一步考察其在日光和紫外光下对罗丹明B和甲基橙的光催化降解性能。研究结果表明,ZnO-3%Ce在日光和紫外光下均表现出较好的光催化降解效果,体现出良好的光降解普适性。日光下光降解效率顺序为:亚甲基蓝>罗丹明B>甲基橙,而紫外光下降解效率顺序为:罗丹明B>亚甲基蓝>甲基橙。最后,我们研究了催化剂ZnO-3%Ce的循环利用及稳定性性能。实验结果表明:该催化剂循环使用3次之后,光催化效率仍然稳定在97%以上,并且其结构和组成保持不变,体现出优异的稳定性和应用前景。     

Si掺杂TiO2纤维的溶胶-凝胶法制备及其光催化活性

采用溶胶-凝胶法并结合水蒸气活化制备了Si掺杂TiO₂纤维, 通过TG-DSC, XRD, FT-IR, UV-Vis-DRS, N₂吸附-脱附, SEM等手段对纤维样品的结构参数及其表面形貌进行了表征, 并以活性艳红X-3B模拟废水体系评价了其光催化活性．结果表明, 与纯TiO₂产物相比, 适量Si掺杂制得的产物是具有丰富介孔结构的TiO₂长纤维, 不仅热稳定性和晶型稳定性俱佳, 而且光催化活性得以显著提高, 经900 ℃热处理后仍能保持结晶完好的锐钛矿相; 在Si/Ti摩尔比为0.15时, 其比表面积和孔容最大, 光催化活性最佳, 该纤维作为光催化剂反应75 min, 水中X-3B的降解率可达99.6%.     

Preparation,Characterization and Photocatalytic Activity of Lanthanum Doped Mesoporous Titanium Dioxide

Lanthanum doped mesoporous titanium dioxide photocatalysts with different La content were synthesized by template method using tetrabutyltitanate (Ti(OC₄H₉)₄) as precursor and Pluronic P123 as template. The catalysts were characterized by thermogravimetric dif-ferential thermal analysis, N₂ adsorption-desorption measurements, X-ray diffraction, and UV-Vis adsorption spectroscopy. The effect of La³⁺ doping concentration from 0.1% to 1% on the photocatalytic activity of mesoporous TiO₂ was investigated. The characterizations indicated that the photocatalysts possessed a homogeneous pore diameter of about 10 nm with high surface area of 165 m²/g. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements in-dicated the presence of C in the doped samples in addition to La. Compared with pure mesoporous TiO₂, the La-doped samples extended the photoabsorption edge into the visible light region. The results of phenol photodecomposition showed that La-doped mesoporous TiO₂ exhibited higher photocatalytic activities than pure mesoporous TiO₂ under UV and visible light irradiation.     

Nanoparticulate Hollow TiO2 Fibers as Light Scatterers in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells: Layer‐by‐Layer Self‐Assembly Parameters and Mechanism

Hollow structures show both light scattering and light trapping, which makes them promising for dye‐sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications. In this work, nanoparticulate hollow TiO₂ fibers are prepared by layer‐by‐layer (LbL) self‐assembly deposition of TiO₂ nanoparticles on natural cellulose fibers as template, followed by thermal removal of the template. The effect of LbL parameters such as the type and molecular weight of polyelectrolyte, number of dip cycles, and the TiO₂ dispersion (amorphous or crystalline sol) are investigated. LbL deposition with weak polyelectrolytes (polyethylenimine, PEI) gives greater nanoparticle deposition yield compared to strong polyelectrolytes (poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride), PDDA). Decreasing the molecular weight of the polyelectrolyte results in more deposition of nanoparticles in each dip cycle with narrower pore size distribution. Fibers prepared by the deposition of crystalline TiO₂ nanoparticles show higher surface area and higher pore volume than amorphous nanoparticles. Scattering coefficients and backscattering properties of fibers are investigated and compared with those of commercial P25 nanoparticles. Composite P25–fiber films are electrophoretically deposited and employed as the photoanode in DSSC. Photoelectrochemical measurements showed an increase of around 50 % in conversion efficiency. By employing the intensity‐modulated photovoltage and photocurrent spectroscopy methods, it is shown that the performance improvement due to addition of fibers is mostly due to the increase in light‐harvesting efficiency. The high surface area due to the nanoparticulate structure and strong light harvesting due to the hollow structure make these fibers promising scatterers in DSSCs.     

中空Ta2O5/TiO2复合光催化剂的可控氧化制备及性能

以钛粉、钽粉为原料,炭黑作为反应性模板,通过熔盐法在炭黑表面原位生长了TaTiC₂纳米碳化物涂层,并以所得TaTiC₂/C复合物为碳化物前驱体,再经可控氧化制备出中空Ta₂O₅/TiO₂复合光催化剂。采用X射线粉末衍射（XRD）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、透射电子显微镜（TEM）、紫外-可见（UV-Vis）漫反射（DRS）及N₂物理吸附等手段对所制备的光催化剂进行形貌、显微结构及孔结构表征。以高压汞灯为紫外光源,以亚甲基蓝为目标降解物,通过光催化降解实验评价中空Ta₂O₅/TiO₂复合光催化剂的光催化活性。结果表明,熔盐法生长碳化物涂层厚度均匀（20~30 nm）,碳化物主要以TaTiC₂晶相存在且具有纳米级的颗粒尺寸。中空Ta₂O₅/TiO₂复合光催化剂同时具有200 nm左右的中空大孔结构及壳层10 nm左右的介孔结构。中空大孔和介孔的存在提高了所制备催化剂对亚甲基蓝的吸附能力。此外,TiO₂与Ta₂O₅通过电子能带结构的耦合,有效提高了光生电子和空穴的分离效率,从而显著提高了光催化活性。n_Ti∶n_Ta=2.5∶1.5时,相应的中空Ta₂O₅/TiO₂复合光催化剂表现出最佳的光催化活性,对亚甲基蓝的紫外光催化降解率高达97%。     

Preparation and photocatalytic activity of nonmetal Co-doped titanium dioxide photocatalyst

A series of boron and sulfur co-doped titanium dioxide (TiO₂) photocatalysts were prepared by a sol-gel method using boric acid, thiourea and tetrabutyl titanate [Ti(OC₄H₉)₄] as precursors. The photoabsorbance of as-prepared photocatalysts was measured by UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and its microstructure was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and N₂ adsorption-desorption measurements. The prepared photocatalysts consisted of the anatase phase mainly in the form of spherical particles. The photocatalytic performance was studied by photodegradation of methyl blue (MB) in water under UV and visible light irradiation. The calcination temperature and the codoping content influenced the photoactivity. The synergistic effect of boron and sulfur co-doping played an important role in improving the photocatalytic activity. In addition, the possibility of cyclic usage of codoped TiO₂ was also confirmed, the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ remained above 91% of that of the fresh sample after being used four times. It was shown that the co-doped TiO₂ could be activated by visible light and could thus be potentially applied for the treatment of water contaminated by organic pollutants.     

中空Ta_2O_5/TiO_2复合光催化剂的可控氧化制备及性能

以钛粉、钽粉为原料,炭黑作为反应性模板,通过熔盐法在炭黑表面原位生长了TaTiC_2纳米碳化物涂层,并以所得TaTiC_2/C复合物为碳化物前驱体,再经可控氧化制备出中空Ta_2O_5/TiO_2复合光催化剂。采用X射线粉末衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、紫外-可见(UV-Vis)漫反射(DRS)及N2物理吸附等手段对所制备的光催化剂进行形貌、显微结构及孔结构表征。以高压汞灯为紫外光源,以亚甲基蓝为目标降解物,通过光催化降解实验评价中空Ta_2O_5/TiO_2复合光催化剂的光催化活性。结果表明,熔盐法生长碳化物涂层厚度均匀(20~30 nm),碳化物主要以TaTiC_2晶相存在且具有纳米级的颗粒尺寸。中空Ta_2O_5/TiO_2复合光催化剂同时具有200 nm左右的中空大孔结构及壳层10 nm左右的介孔结构。中空大孔和介孔的存在提高了所制备催化剂对亚甲基蓝的吸附能力。此外,TiO_2与Ta2O5通过电子能带结构的耦合,有效提高了光生电子和空穴的分离效率,从而显著提高了光催化活性。nTi∶nTa=2.5∶1.5时,相应的中空Ta_2O_5/TiO_2复合光催化剂表现出最佳的光催化活性,对亚甲基蓝的紫外光催化降解率高达97%。