Well-dispersed mesoporous Ta2O5 submicrospheres: Enhanced photocatalytic activity by tuning heating rate at calcination

Well-dispersed mesoporous Ta2O5 submicrospheres were obtained by tailoring the heating rates (R) of calcining Ta2O5 precursor colloidal spheres which were synthesized by the hydrolysis of tantalum glycolate in a mixture of acetone and water. With increasing R, the pore size and the dispersibility of the as-prepared submicrospheres decrease gradually whereas the specific surface area and the pore volume reach maximum values at R = 5 °C/min. These...