A facile method for fabricating TiO2@mesoporous carbon and three-layered nanocomposites.

Herein, we report a new and facile method for fabricating TiO₂@mesoporous carbon hybrid materials. Uniform polydopamine (PDA) layers were coated onto the surface of titanate nanotubes (TNTs) and TiO₂ nanorods (TNDs) through the spontaneous adhesion and self-polymerization of dopamine during the dipping process. Core–shell mesoporous carbon nanotubes with TiO₂ nanorods or nanoparticles encapsulated inside (TiO₂@MC) were then obtained by transforming PDA layers into carbonaceous ones through calcination in nitrogen at 800 °C. The thickness of the mesoporous carbon layers is tens of nanometers and can be controlled by adjusting the coated PDA layers through the self-polymerization reaction time. In addition, three-layered nanocomposites of TiO₂@MC@MO (MO, metal oxide) can be readily prepared by utilizing PDA layers in TNTs@PDA or TNDs@PDA to adsorb the metal ions, followed by the calcination process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]