Hierarchically mesoporous TiO2 (anatase) sub-micron spheres with uniform particle size exhibiting high Li storage capacity and good cycling performance have been successfully prepared in a large quantity by using TiO2-CdSO4 composite as intermediate.

Macrophages are key orchestrators of inflammation as they secrete proteases and inflammatory cytokines. To date, therapies aimed at modulating macrophage phenotype have failed due to the short half-life of biomolecules in the body. Therefore, inhibition of inflammation by gene therapy constitutes a new hope. In the present study, we have assessed collagen hollow spheres as a reservoir system fo...

A novel synthesis containing microwave-assisted HCl etching reaction and precipitating reaction is employed to prepare hierarchical hollow SnO2@TiO2 nanocapsules for anode materials of Li-ion batteries. The intrinsic hollow nanostructure can shorten the lengths for both ionic and electronic transport, enlarge the electrode surface areas, and improving accommodation of the anode volume change du...

A hollow Fe2O3-TiO2-PtOx photocatalyst for visible light H2 generation was prepared from nanosized MIL-88B consisting of coordinatively unsaturated metal centers as a hard template. This photocatalyst is composed of hybrid metal oxide-TiO2 with controllable wall thickness and two different cocatalysts that are separately located on two surface sides.

Hierarchical Sn2Nb2O7 hollow spheres were prepared for the first time via a facile hydrothermal route using bubbles generated in situ from the decomposition of urea as soft templates. The as-obtained hollow spheres with a large specific surface area of 58.3 m(2) g(-1) show improved visible-light-driven photocatalytic H2 production activity in lactic acid aqueous solutions, about 4 times higher ...

Novel double-shelled hierarchical ferrihydrite hollow spheres (Fe(10)O(14)(OH)(2).4H(2)O) were successfully synthesized on a large scale by using a facile medicine-inspired solution-phase approach. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an ordinary and inexpensive medicine for expanding blood vessels, served as both a ferric source and an in situ formed gas-bubble template with the presence of sodium dihy...

A facile synthesis route of cuprous oxide (Cu2O) hollow spheres under different temperatures without the aid of a surfactant was introduced. Morphology and structure varied as functions of reaction temperature and duration. A bubble template-mediated formation mechanism was proposed, which explained the reason of morphology changing with reaction temperature. The obtained Cu2O hollow spheres we...

TiO2–Au composite planar films and inverse opals were synthesized by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) using Direct Liquid Injection for TiO2 deposition the injection of preformed Au nanoparticles (NPs). A few nanometers thick layer was deposited after NPs. Thermal annealing at 380 °C allowed to remove polystyrene beads template form anatase TiO2. The obtained have a layered structure hollow sphere...

Yolk-shell TiO2 microspheres were synthesized via a one-pot template-free solvothermal method building on the aldol condensation reaction of acetylacetone. This unique structure shows superior light scattering ability resulting in power conversion efficiency as high as 11%. This work provided a new synthesis system for TiO2 microspheres from solid to hollow and a novel material platform for hig...