The development of a simple and reproducible route to prepare uniform core@TiO(2) structures is urgent for realizing multifunctional responses and harnessing multiple interfaces for new or enhanced functionalities. Here, we report a versatile kinetics-controlled coating method to construct uniform porous TiO(2) shells for multifunctional core-shell structures. By simply controlling the kinetics of hydrolysis and condensation of tetrabutyl titanate (TBOT) in ethanol/ammonia mixtures, uniform porous TiO(2) shell core-shell structures can be prepared with variable diameter, geometry, and composition as a core (e.g., α-Fe(2)O(3) ellipsoids, Fe(3)O(4) spheres, SiO(2) spheres, graphene oxide nanosheets, and carbon nanospheres). This method is very simple and reproducible, yet important, which allows an easy control over the thickness of TiO(2) shells from 0 to ~25, ~45, and ~70 nm. Moreover, the TiO(2) shells possess large mesoporosities and a uniform pore size of ~2.5 nm, and can be easily crystallized into anatase phase without changing the uniform core-shell structures.

Mesoporous TiO 2 has gained increasing interest because of its outstanding properties and promising applications in a wide range of fields. In this Perspective, we summarize the significant advances on the synthesis of mesoporous TiO 2 in terms of rationally controlling the hydrolysis and condensation rates of titanium precursors to enable the cooperative assembly and/or successful infiltration via the templating methods. The rational designs and fundamentals for preparing mesoporous TiO 2 are presented in the context of improving the conversion efficiencies of solar energy (e.g., maximizing the UV and/or visible light adsorption, minimizing the recombination of photogenerated electron−hole pairs, and optimizing the mass and charge transport) and enhancing the performances of lithium-ion batteries. New trends and ongoing challenges in this field are also highlighted and proposed.

The rational design and controllable synthesis of strongly coupled inorganic/graphene hybrids represents a long-standing challenge for developing advanced catalysts and energy-storage materials. Here, we report a simple sol-gel method toward creating ultradispersed TiO2 nanoparticles on graphene with an unprecedented degree of control based on the precise separation and manipulation of nanoparticles nucleated, grown, anchored, and crystallized and the reduction of graphene oxide (GO). The hybrid materials show ultradispersed anatase nanoparticles (~5 nm), ultrathin thickness (≤3 layers), and a high surface area of ~229 m(2)/g and exhibit a high specific capacity of ~94 mA h g(-1) at ~59 C, which is twice as that of mechanically mixed composites (~41 mA h g(-1)), demonstrating the potential of strongly synergistic coupling effects for advanced functional systems.

Aus dem Kokon geschlüpft: Wasserlösliche N‐dotierte Kohlenstoffnanokugeln von ca. 70 nm Größe können in großen Mengen durch einen einfachen hydrothermalen Prozess unter Verwendung von Kokonseide synthetisiert werden. Die Nanokugeln zeigen exzellente Photolumineszenzeigenschaften und sind biokompatibel für einen Einsatz in der In‐vivo‐Bildgebung.

C-Ti(2p)TiO 2 -200 0 C-Ti(2p) Binding Energy(ev) intensity(a.u.) (d) 408 406 404 402 400 398 396 3000 4000

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Uniform oxide deposition on graphene to form a sandwich-like configuration is a well-known challenge mainly due to their large lattice mismatches and poor affinities. Herein, we report a general strategy to synthesize uniform mesoporous TiO2/graphene/mesoporous TiO2 sandwich-like nanosheets (denoted as G@mTiO2), which cannot be achieved by conventional one-pot synthetic methods. We show that by rational control of hydrolysis and condensation of Ti precursors in a slow way, GO sheets can be conformably coated by amorphous TiO2 shells, which then can be facilely transformed into the well-defined G@mTiO2 nanosheets by annealing. This amorphous-to-crystalline strategy conveniently allows bypassing strain fields that would inevitably arise if direct growth of mesoporous anatase shells on graphene. As distinct from the most common structures of graphene-based composites (mixed, wrapped, or anchored models), the resultant materials display a uniform sandwich-like configuration: few-layer graphene conformably encapsulated by mesoporous TiO2 shells. This new G@mTiO2 nanosheet exhibits ultrathin nature (∼34 nm), small size and high crystalline nanocrystals (∼6 nm), high surface areas (∼252 m(2)/g) and uniform mesopores (∼3.4 nm). We further show that the thickness of mesoporous TiO2 shells can be facilely adjusted as desired by controlling the ammonia content, and this facile strategy can be easily extended to design other oxide/graphene/oxide sandwich-like materials. More importantly, we showcase the benefits of the resultant G@mTiO2 nanosheets as anodes in lithium ion batteries: they deliver an extra high capacity, an excellent high-rate capability, and long cycle life.

Photonic crystals have attracted extensive interest for the potential applications in manipulating light by nontraditional ways based on photonic band structure concepts. In this paper, 3D inverse-opal TiO 2 photonic crystals (TiO 2 -PCs) with designed photonic band gaps are prepared. It is worth noting that when the photonic band gaps of the TiO 2 -PCs are matched with the absorption peaks of the dyes (methyl orange, rhodamine B, and methylene blue), the photocatalytic activity of the corresponding sample is improved under simulated solar light (320 nm < λ < 800 nm) and visible light (420 nm < λ < 800 nm) irradiation. The enhancement could be attributed to the intensified dye sensitization as a result of slow photon effect on the edges of the photonic band gaps. Furthermore, the TiO 2 -PCs exhibit much higher photocatalytic activity and stability than TiO 2 nanoparticle film. It is believed that the presence of inverse opal structure plays an essential role in affecting the dye sensitization and photoreactivity, which could provide valuable information on the design of photocatalysts and set the foundation for the future environmental and energy technologies.