Mesocrystalline anatase nanoparticles synthesized using a simple hydrothermal approach with enhanced light harvesting for gas-phase reaction.

Mesocrystalline TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using a hydrothermal approach. A simple two-step procedure at low temperature (<140 °C) allowed the nucleation of primary particles sized 2-4 nm and their subsequent assembly as almost spherical aggregates sized ≈20 nm. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies, and HRTEM studies confirmed anatase as the unique TiO2 crystalline phase.