Preparation of necklace-like TiO2 nanoparticles templated with L-phenylalanine derivative based on supramolecular hydrogel

The necklace-like TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared by a sol-gel polymerization and subsequent calcinations. The aggregates of hydrogelator, tetraethylammonium 3-{[(2S)-2-(octadecylamino)3-phenylpropanoyl] amino} butyrate (abbreviated as TC(18)PheBu) in aqueous solution were used as the templates and tetrabutyl titanate (Ti(OBu)(4)) was used as the source. of titanium in the preparation of necklace-like TiO2 nanoparticles. The images of FE-SEM indicated that the average diameters of TiO2 nanoparticles were in the range of 200-400nm. The formation mechanism of necklace-like TiO2 nanoparticles was discussed by FT-IR analysis, which indicated that the necklace-like TiO2 nanoparticles were formed through the electrostatic interaction between positive charged TC18PheBu and negative charged oligomers formed by the hydrolysis of Ti(OBu)(4). The XRD analysis indicated that the TiO2 nanoparticles were in the form of anatase crystals.