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High-surface-area mesoporous CexZr1-xO2 materials synthesized through a surfactant-assisted approach of nanocrystalline particle assembly are utilized as a promising support for VOx-based catalysts. The catalytic properties of the resultant VOx/CexZr1-xO2 nanocatalysts are evaluated by the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane using a microreactor-GC system. It is indicated that the catalyst particles are on a nanoscale, having a mesoporous structure with uniform pore-size distribution and high surface area. The catalytic behavior of these mesoporous nanostructured VOx/CexZr1-xO2 catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane reaction relies on the vanadia loading amount, the calcination temperature, the surface area and the Ce/Zr ratio of the supports, the particle size of active compounds, and the additional contribution to the propylene formation derives from the contribution of the catalytic dehydrogenation of propane under oxygen-lean conditions. The catalyst prepared with 8 wt% vanadia loading on Ce0.2Zr0.8O2 exhibits high and stable catalytic performance in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical doping has been recognized as a promising route to achieve novel physicochemical functions of porous carbons as metal-free catalysts in renewable energy-related technologies, such as electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, it remains challenging to exploit an effective method for the synthesis of metal-free carbonaceous electrocatalysts. Herein, we report the direct synthesis of phosphorus-doped mesoporous carbonaceous electrocatalysts for the first time through soft-templating method, in which organophosphonic acid serves as the phosphorus source. The resulting mesoporous carbon material possesses high doping level, large surface area, and an interconnected mesopore system, ensuring the sufficient exposure and availability of catalytic sites to realize considerable catalytic activity for ORR in alkaline media. More importantly, much better tolerance for methanol oxidation, higher durability, and comparable Tafel slopes as compared with the commercial Pt/carbon (Pt/C) catalyst are valuable for developing alternative fuel cells and metal-air batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-free carbonaceous materials have attracted considerable interests as heterogeneous catalysts owing to their superior physiochemical properties over metal-based catalysts, such as low cost, no pollution, chemical and thermal stabilities, as well as readily tailorable porous structure and surface chemistry. This review article provides an overview of the fundamentals and recent advances in the field of metal-free carbon catalysts, including graphenes, carbon nanotubes, mesoporous carbons, graphitic carbon nitrides, and related composites. Special focus is placed on their controllable preparation and applications in gas phase, liquid phase, electrochemical, and photocatalytic reactions, as well as defect and surface chemistry related catalytic activities of carbon materials. Some perspectives are highlighted on the development of more efficient metal-free carbonaceous catalysts featuring high stability, low cost, optimized structures, and enhanced performance, which are the key factors to accelerate the designed preparation and commercialization of carbocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesoporous zirconium phosphonates were demonstrated as highly effective catalysts for the heterogeneously catalyzed cycloaddition reaction between aziridines and CO2 to yield oxazolidinones in a solvent-free system without introducing any co-catalysts or halogen species, exhibiting outstanding activity and selectivity, as well as excellent recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent progress in mesoporous materials has been extended to chemically designed non-siliceous inorganic–organic hybrid materials including metal phosphonates, carboxylates and sulfonates. Well-defined mesoporosity, mesophase and micro-/macroscopic morphology can be successfully obtained and effectively adjusted by the judicious control of the synthesis systems. A considerable amount of organic functional groups can be homogeneously integrated in the hybrid framework through facilely employing various organic coupling molecules, exhibiting the pristine functionalities and the potentials of being further modified. This has resulted in multifunctional porous materials with particular and novel properties, and has broadened their application region beyond the traditional use as catalysts and adsorbents, as they can even contribute to the developments in fields ranging from energy storage and conversion to medical diagnosis and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles with anatase phase were assembled on reduced graphene oxide via a template-free one-step hydrothermal method. [•] The TiO2/rGO nanocomposites have better adsorption capacity and photocatalytic degradation efficiency for dyes removal. [•] Improved dye adsorption and photogenerated charge separation are responsible for enhanced activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ordered mesoporous carbon materials with high microporosity were synthesized by a low temperature autoclaving of citric acid-catalyzed polymerized resorcinol/formaldehyde in the presence of the triblock copolymer F127 and were activated by nitric acid oxidation. The materials were used as electrode materials in electrochemical supercapacitors. A bimodal pore size distribution of 2.1-2.3 and 5.3 nm with a surface area of 465-578 m g and pore volume of 0.44-0.54 cm g was obtained with the retention of an ordered mesoporous structure after nitric acid (2 M) treatment. The introduced functional groups produced a pseudocapacitance, which resulted in an increase in the specific capacitance. The electrochemical capacitance of the resulting mesoporous carbons showed a marked increase after 3 h of nitric acid activation, exhibiting a high value of 295 F g at the scan rate of 10 mV s in 6 M KOH aqueous solution and good cycling stability with specific capacitance retention over 500 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodic mesoporous titanium phosphonate (PMTP-1) materials were synthesized and used as an adsorbent for the removal of a cationic dye, methylene blue (MB), from aqueous solutions. The PMTP-1 powder has a uniform mesopore size of 2.9 nm with high surface area of 606 m2/g. The batchdye adsorption experiments were performed under various conditions including contact time, adsorbent dose, initial MB concentration, solution pH and temperature. The adsorption equilibrium was achieved after 30 minutes of contact time, and the adsorption of MB on PMTP-1 was best fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model with the maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 617.28 mg/g. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG, ΔH and ΔS were calculated. Results of kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption process followed the pseudo-second-order model, which suggests that the process might be a chemisorption. The study results indicate that the PMTP-1 powder could be used as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of textile dyes from effluents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical mesoporous carbon materials with large microporosity were prepared by direct tri-constituent co-assembly with the use of resols as the carbon precursor, tetraethyl orthosilicate as the inorganic precursor, and triblock copolymer F127 as the soft template. Bimodal pore size distributions in the range of 1.5-4 and 7.5-12 nm were obtained in the synthesized hierarchical mesoporous carbon materials after etching of silica by HF acid, showing a high surface area of 1,675 m g with a large pore volume of 2.06 cm g. The electrochemical performance of the hierarchical mesoporous carbons was evaluated as an electrode material for electrochemical supercapacitor, showing a specific capacitance as high as 152 F g at a scan rate of 5 mV s in 6 M KOH aqueous solution and a good cycling stability with capacitance retention of 99 % over 500 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bioresponsive detection of DNA or proteins and the controlled release of drug molecules are two important research areas for both experimental studies and practical applications. However, the real incorporation of these two functions into one system is still untouched. Being different from the widely reported mesoporous silica nanoparticles that were used as the support, herein we report a smart system based on hybrid phosphonate–TiO2 mesoporous nanostructures capped with fluorescein labeled oligonucleotides, which can realize simultaneous and highly-efficient biomolecule sensing and controlled drug release. The fluorescence of the labeled oligonucleotides is first quenched by the phosphonate–TiO2 materials, which are related to the fluorescence resonance energy transfer mechanism. The addition of complementary DNA strands or protein target leads to the displacement of the capped DNA due to hybridization or protein–aptamer reactions. The opening of the pores can further cause the release of entrapped drugs as well as the restoration of dye fluorescence. The present method is proven to have high selectivity towards specific ssDNA and proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic–organic hybrid titanium phosphonate materials with a hierarchically-porous structure were synthesized by a mild solvent evaporation strategy using 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid as an organophosphorus coupling molecule. The preparations were accomplished with the use of triblock copolymers F127 and P123 as structure-directing agents. All the samples possessed a macroporous morphology of the mesoporous framework with a high surface area, and were characterized by SEM, TEM and N2sorption analysis. The hydroxyethylidene-bridged organophosphonate groups were homogeneously incorporated into the network of the hierarchical porous solid, as revealed by FT-IR, MAS NMR, TGA-DSC and XPS measurements. The hybrid materials were used as adsorbents for the liquid phase adsorption of Cu2+ions in water and the gas phase adsorption of CO2, showing high adsorption capacity and good reusability, which makes them promising adsorbents for practical applications in environmental remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 solid solutions were prepared by three different methods, namely, surfactant-assisted, co-precipitation, and sol–gel methods, and were used as supports of CuO nanocatalysts by the deposition-precipitation (DP) method. The prepared supports and catalysts were characterized by using XRD, N2 adsorption, TEM, and H2-TPR techniques. The influence of preparation methods on the low-temperature carbon monoxide oxidation activity of these CuO/Ce0.8Zr0.2O2 catalysts was investigated comparatively by using a microreactor-GC system. The catalyst prepared by surfactant-assisted method is more active for low-temperature CO oxidation than the ones prepared by the co-precipitation and sol–gel methods. The support and catalysts prepared by surfactant-assisted method possess mesoporous framework, nanoscale particle size, and high surface area, improving the synergistic effect between CuO species and support, which is beneficial for enhancing the catalytic performance of low-temperature CO oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchically mesoporous–macroporous titanium dioxide (MMTD) was synthesized by the hydrolysis of tetrabutyl titanate in the absence of surfactant and autoclaving at 60 °C, which exhibits a porous hierarchy of wormhole-like mesostructure in the framework of macrochannels. Different contents of CuO nanoparticles were supported on the MMTD by a deposition–precipitation (DP) method, retaining the high surface areas and hierarchical porosity. The prepared MMTD support and the resulting CuO/MMTD nanocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N2 adsorption analysis, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. Their catalytic behavior for low-temperature CO oxidation was studied by using a microreactor–GC system, and the CuO/MMTD catalyst with 8 wt% CuO content and calcined at 400 °C was found to have the highest catalytic activity. The catalytic activity depended on the CuO loading amount, the precalcination temperature, the meso–macroporous framework, the surface area, and the particle size of the CuO/MMTD catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mesoporous hexagonal silica CMI-1, MCM-41, SBA-15 and Al-incorporated silica AlCMI-1 with pore sizes of 2, 2.7, 3.8 and 3.6nm, respectively, have been synthesized and used as host materials for the fabrication of optical materials by the encapsulation of direct blue 71 dye. The surface silanol groups of these mesoporous silicas were functionalized by silylation with 3-(aminopropyl)-triethoxysilane or methyltrimethoxylsilicate, which allow a successful doping of organic dye molecules. X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption, thermogravimetric analysis, infrared, UV–vis diffuse reflectance and solid-state NMR spectroscopy were used to structurally characterize these composite products. It is found that the dye molecules of direct blue 71 have been encapsulated in the pores of MCM-41, SBA-15 and AlCMI-1, whereas attached on the external surface of CMI-1. The steric effect from the pore size of the host materials is significant. Moreover, Al-species in the AlCMI-1 were believed to take an important role in the dye encapsulation, resulting in a larger blue-shift of 21nm than other mesoporous dye/silica composites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Hierarchical porous carbons (HPCs) are prepared by a one-step hydrothermal route using soluble resols as a carbon source, polystyrene spheres and Pluronic F127 as macroporous and mesoporous templates, respectively. The resulting HPCs comprise continuous macro–meso–micropore networks on the carbon blocks, simultaneously exhibiting large surface areas (501–709 m 2 g −1 ), which are particularly evaluated as counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS), Tafel polarization curves, and cyclic voltammograms (CVs) demonstrate that the hierarchical pore system plays a crucial role in promoting the catalytic activities of the HPC CEs. In comparison with other porous carbon CEs, the HPC CEs with various macropores and appropriate micro/mesopores present better catalytic behaviors due to the easier accessibility for electrolyte ions and better utilization of the catalytically active sites, resulting in the higher photovoltaic conversion efficiencies of DSSCs. The optimum photovoltaic conversion efficiency of DSSCs based on HPC CEs is 7.22%, which can even match up to that of the cell with Pt CE (7.25%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mesoporous titania–silica–phosphonate (TSP) hybrid materials with different Si/Ti molar ratios have been synthesized by triconstituent assembly through oil-in-water microemulsion strategy with the use of Si(OEt)4, TiCl4 and sodium salt of ethylene diamine tetra(methylene phosphonic acid) as Si, Ti and P sources, respectively, and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as surfactant template. The integration of silica into titania–phosphonate hybrids resulted in the improvement of regularity of mesoporous structure and the enlargement of surface area and pore volume of the hybrid materials, confirmed by low-angle powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis. The synthesized TSP triconstituent hybrid mesoporous materials have a preferable BET surface area up to 670m2/g with large pore volume of 1.1cm3/g. And the adsorption measurements of the synthesized TSP materials for CO2 in gas phase and Cd(II) ions in liquid phase were tested, indicating their potential applications as multifunctional adsorbents for environmental protection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hierarchically meso-/macroporous titanium tetraphosphonate materials with intraframework ethylenediamine groups were synthesized by a simple surfactant-free process with the use of sodium salt of ethylene diamine tetra(methylene phosphonic acid) and titanium tetrabutoxide precursors under a very wide pH range from pH=3–13. Besides the macroporous structure of 100–300nm in size, a wormhole-like mesostructure was in the macropore surface layers of the framework and a mesocellular foam structure in the core part of the macroporous walls, rendering an unusual hierarchical structure of titanium phosphonates, which was supported by the electron microscopic observation and nitrogen adsorption analysis. Characterization by FT-IR, NMR and XPS indicated the integrity of the organophosphonate groups in the macro-/mesoporous solid. The synthesized materials exhibited not only high photocatalytic activity under UV-light irradiation, but also large capacity for heavy metal ion adsorption with a preference sequence of Cd2+

Graphical abstract Lamellar, 2D-hexagonal and particle-packed mesostructures of aluminum phosphonate are synthesized by selecting aluminum source with different inorganic anions. Abstract Mesostructured aluminum phosphonates (AOP- x) bridging with 1,1′-hydroxyl ethylidene groups, including a lamellar mesostructure (AOP-N) with crystalline framework, a well-ordered 2D-hexagonal mesophase (AOP-Cl), and a particle-packed mesostructure (AOP-S), were simply synthesized in the presence of surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide in the ethanol-water system, by choosing Al(NO 3) 3 , AlCl 3 and Al 2 (SO 4) 3 as the aluminum source, respectively. The crystallinity, morphology, mesophase, and skeletal structure of the as-prepared materials were characterized by XRD, TEM, SEM, 27Al, 31P and 13C MAS NMR, and nitrogen sorption techniques. After calcination under N 2 at 350 °C, the calcined AOP- x samples consist of aluminum phosphonate and phosphate, possessing desirable specific surface areas of 116–585 m2/g. The effect of the inorganic counteranions (NO 3 −, Cl− and SO 4 2−) from the aluminum source on the formation of different AOP- x mesostructures was discussed in terms of their bind strength to the headgroups of the surfactant micelles, suggesting the potential for designed synthesis of non-silica-based mesostructured organic-inorganic hybrid materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review: 236 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composite electrocatalysts of cobalt oxide/mesoporous carbon and cobalt nitride/mesoporous carbon are synthesized via a convenient oxidation and subsequent ammonia nitridation of cobalt particles-incorporated mesoporous carbon, respectively. The cobalt oxide and nitride particles are uniformly imbedded in mesoporous carbon matrix, forming the unique composites with high surface area and mesopore architecture, and the resultant composites are evaluated as counter electrode materials, exhibiting good catalytic activity for the reduction of triiodide. The composites of cobalt nitride and mesoporous carbon are superior to the counterparts of cobalt oxide and mesoporous carbon in catalyzing the triiodide reduction, and the dye-sensitized solar cell with the composites achieves an optimum power conversion efficiency of 5.26%, which is comparable to the one based on the conventional Pt counter electrode (4.88%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composites of ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) and graphene nano-sheets (GNS) are prepared by mixing OMC with different weight ratios of GNS, and utilized as counter electrode (CE) materials for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Tafel polarization, and cyclic voltammetry measurements demonstrate that the OMC/GNS CEs display the enhanced electron transport property and fast reduction rate of I 3 − in comparison with those of the individual OMC and GNS CEs, due to the combination of superior electrical conductivity of GNS and good catalytic activity of OMC. Under AM 1.5 irradiation (100 mW cm −2 ), the DSSCs based on the OMC/GNS CEs show a maximum power conversion efficiency of 6.82%, which is comparable to 7.08% of the cell with the conventional Pt CE at the same experimental conditions, suggesting that the OMC/GNS composites are one of advanced CE materials for low-cost DSSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly ordered, ordered and disordered mesoporous carbons were prepared by an organic-organic self-assembly method with different molar ratios of formaldehyde to resorcinol (F/R) under the catalysis of citric acid. The mesoporous carbon synthesized with the F/R ratio of 2 possesses highly ordered pore system and large surface area, while the ones with the F/R ratio of 1 and 3 have an ordered and a disordered wormhole-like mesostructure, respectively. These three kinds of mesoporous carbons were utilized as counter electrode (CE) materials for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and the effect of structural mesopore ordering on the photovoltaic performance was investigated. The cell assembled with highly ordered mesoporous carbon CE showed an excellent energy conversion efficiency of 6.06%, which is comparable to the one with Pt CE (6.29%), whereas ordered mesoporous carbon and disordered mesoporous carbon CEs based cells exhibited relatively poor photovoltaic performance at the same testing conditions. The enhanced catalytic capability of highly ordered mesoporous carbon CE is intrinsically attributed to the straight channels of long-range highly ordered 2-D hexagonal mesopores, which accelerates the diffusion of redox species and facilitates the charge-transfer process. The synthesized highly ordered mesoporous carbon with outstanding catalytic activity could be an alternative to replace Pt for high-efficiency DSSC CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] ZnO nanoparticles highly dispersed on mesoporous phosphonated titania for efficient photocatalysis. [•] A novel coordination and low-temperature annealing strategy for fabrication of the coupled photocatalysts. [•] The coupled photocatalyst showed excellent activity with high stability in photo-degradation of dyes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Review: 150 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mesoporous modified-red-mud (MRM) was obtained via the modification of as-received red mud (RM) by the acid digestion and alkali reprecipitation approach, which was further employed as the support for preparation of Ni/MRM catalysts by the impregnation method. The textural and structural properties of the MRM and as-prepared Ni/MRM catalysts were fully characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry-differential thermal gravity analysis (TG-DTG), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR) techniques. The catalytic behavior of the prepared Ni/MRM catalysts for ammonia decomposition was investigated, indicating excellent catalytic activity, comparable to the previously reported metal oxide supported Ni catalysts. This study demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing the waste from the aluminum industry for the decomposition of ammonia to hydrogen. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Mesoporous carbon nitride (MCN) and carbon nitride–carbon (MCN/C) composites with a partly graphitized structure are synthesized by using mesoporous silica SBA-15 as a hard template and ethylenediamine and carbon tetrachloride as precursors, possessing uniform mesopore size of 6.3nm, high surface area of 278–338m2/g, and high nitrogen content of 20.5–24.9% with abundant basic sites. The synthesized MCN and MCN/C composites are used as adsorbents for CO2 capture, showing high adsorption capacity and good reusability. The presence of carbon coating layer in MCN/C composites introduced more micropores, which favored the capture of CO2, exhibiting high CO2 capture capacity of 3.05mmol/g at 0°C and 2.35mmol/g at 25°C and 760mmHg, with good CO2/N2 selectivity and excellent regeneration stability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Monolithic mesoporous carbons were prepared through a simple autoclaving method using citric acid as catalyst instead of HCl. The presence of citric acid plays an important role in determining the structural ordering of the resultant mesoporous structure due to the –COOH groups which can enhance hydrogen interaction between structural directing agent of triblock copolymer F127 and polymeric carbon precursor of resorcinol–formaldehyde resins. The obtained carbons have a hexagonal pore system, uniform pore size of ∼5.0nm and high BET surface area of ∼758m2/g. The prepared mesoporous carbons were used as catalyst for dehydrogenation of propane, exhibiting high catalytic activity and stability. After 50h time-on-stream, the propane conversion of 12.1% was observed with propylene selectivity of 95.1% in the direct dehydrogenation process, while the propane conversion of 20.1% with propylene selectivity of 25.8% in oxidative dehydrogenation process. It has been found that the surface basic groups are active sites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Mesoporous carbon activated with HNO3 was demonstrated to be robust metal-free catalyst for direct dehydrogenation of propane without any auxiliary stream, exhibiting high selectivity and stability. The final propane conversion is 22.4% with stable propylene selectivity of 86.6% after 50hours. HNO3 activation introduces more basic oxygen groups than the pristine carbon, which is believed to be active site in the dehydrogenation process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Zirconium ribonucleotides were grafted onto SBA-15 by a one-pot condensation process using ZrOCl2 and 5′-adenylic acid (or 5′-cytidylic acid) as precursors. The ordered mesoporous structure with high surface area was well preserved in the obtained materials, exhibiting high capacity for CO2 capture of 1.96–1.99mmolg−1 at 25°C and 1.0atm, with excellent reusability. The large CO2 capture capacity was comparable to or even higher than the previously reported amino functionalized mesoporous silica materials, which benefited from the large amount of amino and hydroxyl groups in the hybrid pore wall. It was the first illustration of substituted phosphate surface functionalized mesoporous silica materials, which would open a new area for the preparation of hybrid materials from biomolecules. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Ultra-large mesoporous carbon materials were synthesized with the use of triblock copolymers and phloroglucinol/formaldehyde polymer as filler under acid conditions. The carbons obtained by employing F127 as template and carbonizing at 600°C exhibit large mesopores with a narrow pore-size distribution centered at 19.2nm. With the assistance of decane as a swelling agent, the pore size of the P123-templated 600°C-carbonized carbons could be enlarged from 11.5 to 14.7nm. It is demonstrated that the low synthesis temperature and high reactivity of phloroglucinol are two key factors for the formation of large mesopores. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Carbon-modified TiO2 photocatalysts with a hierarchical meso-/macroporous structure were prepared through direct hydrolyzation of n-tetrabutyl titanate in the dodecylamine solution and subsequent calcination under nitrogen atmosphere. The resulting photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen sorption analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV–vis spectroscopy. A well-defined hierarchical macrochannel-like structure of mesoporous nanoparticle assembly with a predominant anatase phase was observed in the synthesized carbon-modified titania materials, exhibiting obviously high absorption in the wavelength range of 400–800nm. It is revealed that carbon could not only substitute partly Ti in the form of Ti–O–C bond but also substitute O in the form of O–Ti–C, besides amorphous interstitial carbon atoms were synchronously introduced, benefitting the improvement of solar light photocatalytic activity. The synthesized hierarchical carbon-modified titanias materials exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance in the photodegradation of Rhodamine B dye, suggesting their promising potential as effective solar photocatalysts for organic waste degradation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]