Preparation of TiO_2 Aerogels by Ambient Pressure Drying

TiO2 aerogels were prepared by sol-gel method at ambient pressure using tetrabutyl titanate as raw material,formamide as drying control chemical additive,tetralthyl orthosilcate(TEOS)/ethanol as pore fluids extractant. The structural properties of aerogel samples were characterized by means of XRD,BET,TEM,SEM,EDS and FT-IR,etc. Experimental results show that as-prepared TiO2 aerogel is in amorphous state with the apparent density of 0.375g/cm3,the specific surface area of 523m2/g and the average pore size of about 9.9nm. After calcinated at 850℃ in air for 4h,the sample transforms from amorphous state to anatase-type crystal,while its’ pore volume shrinks and average pore size increases to 16.3nm,the specific surface area reduces to 208m2/g. TiO2 aerogel prepared by the above method presents excellent thermal stability and high specific surface area.