A Mesoporous Lead-Doped Titanium Oxide Compound with High Performance and Recyclability in I2 Uptake and Photocatalysis

A three-dimensional (3D) mesoporous material with an atomically precise structure, Ti16Pb5O16(C6H5CO2)2(OCH3)40 (Ti16Pb5), comprised of a novel high-nuclearity Pb-doped titanium oxide cluster (TOC), was synthesized. Ti16Pb5 exhibited a surface area of 45 m2 g–1 and a pore diameter of 3.5 nm. It exhibited an uptake capacity of I2 of ≤2.2 g g–1 in vapor, and the performance was maintained after seven uptake–release cycles. Ti16Pb5 also showed a high adsorption ratio and capacity (93% and 3.1 g g–1) in hexane. The characterization data, including Fourier transform infrared, Raman, and powder X-ray diffraction, suggested the lattice structure of Ti16Pb5 was rigid and I2 was accommodated in the pores of Ti16Pb5. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of using a TOC in I2 adsorption. In addition, Ti16Pb5 showed excellent activity and recyclability in visible-light degradation of dye pollutants and photocurrent generation. Our structural analysis suggested the alkoxide ligands within the channels of Ti16Pb5 build up a confined polar environment and thereby facilitate I2 accommodation, and meanwhile, the improved performances and stabilities of Ti16Pb5 are correlated with its cluster-based, 3D hierarchical structure.