1 3
Topics in Current Chemistry (2020) 378:2
two possible conclusions/proposals. First, the presence of Fe stabilizes the layered structure of the nano-petals to roll to tubes. Second, the utilization of BM
promotes the peeling of the mineral’s particle even at a lower concentration of
10 M, necessary for the hydrothermally peeling of TiO 2 particles.
The herein presented results showed that the mechanochemical-derived forces
can promote the features of the catalyst, crucial for heterogeneous photocatalytic
applications. While the main goal of the research effort towards the formation of
1-D TiO 2 up to nowadays was focused predominately on the explanation of the
involved steps and mechanisms, in the cases where the materials were tested as
photocatalyst, they revealed elevated photocatalytic capabilities, equal or better
compared to the benchmark P25 in most of the cases. The goal of the present
work is to highlight the developments in the area mechanochemical approaches
when designing new synthetic strategies of nanostructured materials, as well as to
call and initiate the attention for the possibilities for future utilization and exploration. We believe that nanoscaled and especially nanotubular-shaped titania can
be further studied as photocatalyst, and we actively work towards this direction.
Applying mechanochemistry will also be interesting to conduct for the design and
synthesis of novel nanostructured electrodes for electrochemical catalytic reactions. Even though it is impossible these two techniques are simultaneously combined, the utilization of both at separate steps of synthesis can beget innovative
approaches towards the synthesis of highly photo-active zero- and/or one-dimensional titanium-based catalyst, pure or doped with heteroatoms, like nitrogen or
metals. In-depth study of the photocatalytic properties and applications of the
TiO 2 NTBs, as, for instance, advanced oxidation processes or biomass valorization, can lead to interesting and important outcomes, as occurred in the case of
their application in electrocatalysis and photo-remediation. Additionally, the use
of a simple and economic US bath or ball-milling grinder can be utilized as a
powerful synthetic tool. It is also important to point out that the use of mechanochemical processes in lab during the synthesis can lead to effects not yet studied,
hypothesized, or imagined. Last but not least, we would like to emphasize that it
will be absolutely beneficial if more details are provided when mechanochemistry is applied, such as calorimetric evaluation of the setup, luminol mapping,
experimental setup details (horn details, photos, or a drawing), and details of the
synthesis (yield, purity, size separation techniques, etc.).
Acknowledgements JCC and DAG are very grateful for the support from the National Science Centre in
Poland within OPUS-13 project no. 2017/25/B/ST8/01592.
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creat iveco mmons .org/licen ses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the
source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
63
Reprinted from the journal
Topics in Current Chemistry (2020) 378:2
two possible conclusions/proposals. First, the presence of Fe stabilizes the layered structure of the nano-petals to roll to tubes. Second, the utilization of BM
promotes the peeling of the mineral’s particle even at a lower concentration of
10 M, necessary for the hydrothermally peeling of TiO 2 particles.
The herein presented results showed that the mechanochemical-derived forces
can promote the features of the catalyst, crucial for heterogeneous photocatalytic
applications. While the main goal of the research effort towards the formation of
1-D TiO 2 up to nowadays was focused predominately on the explanation of the
involved steps and mechanisms, in the cases where the materials were tested as
photocatalyst, they revealed elevated photocatalytic capabilities, equal or better
compared to the benchmark P25 in most of the cases. The goal of the present
work is to highlight the developments in the area mechanochemical approaches
when designing new synthetic strategies of nanostructured materials, as well as to
call and initiate the attention for the possibilities for future utilization and exploration. We believe that nanoscaled and especially nanotubular-shaped titania can
be further studied as photocatalyst, and we actively work towards this direction.
Applying mechanochemistry will also be interesting to conduct for the design and
synthesis of novel nanostructured electrodes for electrochemical catalytic reactions. Even though it is impossible these two techniques are simultaneously combined, the utilization of both at separate steps of synthesis can beget innovative
approaches towards the synthesis of highly photo-active zero- and/or one-dimensional titanium-based catalyst, pure or doped with heteroatoms, like nitrogen or
metals. In-depth study of the photocatalytic properties and applications of the
TiO 2 NTBs, as, for instance, advanced oxidation processes or biomass valorization, can lead to interesting and important outcomes, as occurred in the case of
their application in electrocatalysis and photo-remediation. Additionally, the use
of a simple and economic US bath or ball-milling grinder can be utilized as a
powerful synthetic tool. It is also important to point out that the use of mechanochemical processes in lab during the synthesis can lead to effects not yet studied,
hypothesized, or imagined. Last but not least, we would like to emphasize that it
will be absolutely beneficial if more details are provided when mechanochemistry is applied, such as calorimetric evaluation of the setup, luminol mapping,
experimental setup details (horn details, photos, or a drawing), and details of the
synthesis (yield, purity, size separation techniques, etc.).
Acknowledgements JCC and DAG are very grateful for the support from the National Science Centre in
Poland within OPUS-13 project no. 2017/25/B/ST8/01592.
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creat iveco mmons .org/licen ses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the
source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
63
Reprinted from the journal