Highly Efficient Degradation of Tobacco Specific N‐Nitrosamines by TiO₂ Mesocrystals with Robust and Tailored Microporous Structure

Abstract

It is essential to control tobacco specific N‐nitrosamines (TSNAs) pollution for the protection of public health, which were identified as the most abundant carcinogens in tobacco and tobacco smoke. Herein, we provide microporous TiO2 mesocrystals as a new material for the remove of TSNAs with high degradation efficiency. The anatase TiO2 mesocrystals with tunable microporous structure were synthesized by a facile method under the acid solution. The TiO2 mesocrystals were firstly used to the remove of TSNAs through photocatalytic degradation. It's exciting that TSNAs of tobacco extraction solution can be almost entirely reduced (up to 97%) by anatase TiO2 mesocrystals after 30 mins through photocatalytic degradation. Moreover, it's found that the microporous size of mesocrystals play a key role on the degradation capability. The TiO2 mesocrystals with microporous size comparable to the size of TSNAs molecule exhibit the best degradation performance. This finding offers a robust microporous material and efficient method for removing the carcinogen like TSNAs as well as other pollutants in environment.