US EPA

2837169 

Journal Article 

Molten Salt Assisted Self Assembly (MASA): Synthesis of Mesoporous Metal Titanate (CoTiO3, MnTiO3, and Li4Ti5O12) Thin Films and Monoliths 

Avci, C; Aydin, A; Tuna, Z; Yavuz, Z; Yamauchi, Y; Suzuki, N; Dag, O 

2014 

Yes 

Chemistry of Materials
ISSN: 0897-4756
EISSN: 1520-5002 

26 

20 

6050-6057 

10.1021/cm503020y 

WOS:000343950300029 

Mesoporous metal titanates are very important class of materials for clean energy applications, specifically transition metal titanates and lithium titanates. The molten salt assisted self-assembly (MASA) process offers a new synthetic route to produce mesoporous metal titanate thin films. The process is conducted as follows: first a clear solution that contains two solvents (namely the hydrated salt (Co(NO3)(2)6H(2)O or Mn(NO3)(2)6H(2)O, or LiNO(3)xH(2)O, and ethanol), two surfactants (cethyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB, and 10-lauryl ether, C12EO10), an acid and titanium source (titanium tetrabutoxide, TTB) is prepared and then spin or spray coated over a substrate to form a thin or thick lyotropic liquid crystalline (LLC) film, respectively. Finally, the films are converted into transparent spongy mesoporous metal titanates by a fast calcination step. Three mesoporous metal titanates (namely, CoTiO3, MnTiO3, and Li4Ti5O12) have been successfully synthesized and structurally/thermally characterized using microscopy, spectroscopy, diffraction, and thermal techniques. The mesoporous cobalt and manganese titanates are stable up to 500 C and collapse at around 550 C into nanocrystalline Co3O4TiO2 and Mn2O3TiO2; however, lithium titanate is stable up to 550 C and crystalline even at 350 C. The crystallinity and pore size of these titanates can be adjusted by simply controlling the annealing and/or calcination temperatures.