Reactive Hypersaline Route: One-Pot Synthesis of Porous Photoactive Nanocomposites

Herein, porous photoactive nanocomposites are prepared by a simple one-pot synthesis approach using a salt and aqueous media. Within this reactive hypersaline route, the salt not only serves in the structuring of the composite but also becomes an integral active part of it. Here, the addition of sodium thiocyanate to a titania precursor guides, on the one hand, the formation of needle-shaped nanoparticles and, on the other hand, forms yellow compound isoperthiocyanic acid, which is homogeneously incorporated into the porous nanocomposite. Compared to a pure titania reference, this material reveals a 7-fold-increased photodegradation rate of Rhodamine B as a model compound. This reveals the reactive hypersaline route to be a promising and facile synthesis route toward photoactive porous materials.