Non-hydrolytic synthesis of hierarchical TiO2 nanostructures using natural cellulosic materials as both oxygen donors and templates

Surface Mineralization of Cellulose by Metal Chloride – an Original Pathway for the Synthesis of Hierarchical Urchin and Needle Carpetlike TiO2 Superstructures

“…These were not initially introduced here, but could be generated during the process. By comparison with our previous report,43 the temperature was kept at 80 °C, as any temperature increase led to the loss of the rodlike morphology, and – instead – only a dense coating of round particles was obtained. The reason for this temperature effect is not clear, as it can have various implications on the chemical reactions but also on the physicochemical behavior of the particles in solution.…”

“…We recently introduced a new biotemplating approach and showed that, under strictly anhydrous conditions, TiO 2 can be obtained by reaction between TiCl 4 as the titanium source and a cellulosic material such as Ferrula communis or cotton as the oxygen source 43. This is a sort of mineralization, a one‐pot metathetic liquid/solid reaction that happens at the interface of the cellulosic material.…”

Hybrid metal oxide@biopolymer materials precursors of metal oxides and metal oxide-carbon composites

“…140) Besides its simplicity, the most interesting in this approach is certainly the unique and special morphology of the metal oxide nanoparticles, different from the rounded shape always reported. Nanorods assembled in needles 141) or lacework formations, 142) forming super structure like flowers, urchins or carpets are example of what can be done in the case of TiO 2 , as illustrated in Fig.…”

Templated Synthesis for Nanoarchitectured Porous Materials

“…8486 Boury et al employed cotton wool and terula communis (an umbelliferous plant) for the synthesis of nanostructured TiO 2 microfibers or microcellular materials through non-hydrolytic reaction of TiCl 4 ( Figure 7). 87 The hydroxy and ether groups in the cellulose of the biotemplates can react with TiCl 4 , leading to the intermediate formation of a titanium alkoxide network. Different from the most common surface solgel approaches in which the template is only a mold over which an oxide layer is deposited, here the biotemplate is a reactant which is gradually replaced by the oxide phase, similar to fossilization processes.…”