Using melt-derived LD glass powders and 5–20 M NaOH solutions, porous lithium disilicate (Li₂Si₂O₅, LD) glass–ceramics were prepared by the cold sintering process (CSP) associated with the post-annealing technique. In this novel technique, H₂O vapor originating from condensation reactions between residual Si–OH groups in cold-sintered LD glasses played the role of a foaming agent. With the increasing concentration of NaOH solutions, many more residual Si–OH groups appeared, and then rising trends in number as well as size were found for spherical pores formed in the resultant porous LD glass–ceramics. Correspondingly, the total porosities and average pore sizes varied from 25.6 ± 1.3% to 48.6 ± 1.9% and from 1.89 ± 0.68 μm to 13.40 ± 10.27 μm, respectively. Meanwhile, both the volume fractions and average aspect ratios of precipitated LD crystals within their pore walls presented progressively increasing tendencies, ranging from 55.75% to 76.85% and from 4.18 to 6.53, respectively. Young’s modulus and the hardness of pore walls for resultant porous LD glass–ceramics presented remarkable enhancement from 56.9 ± 2.5 GPa to 79.1 ± 2.1 GPa and from 4.6 ± 0.9 GPa to 8.1 ± 0.8 GPa, whereas their biaxial flexural strengths dropped from 152.0 ± 6.8 MPa to 77.4 ± 5.4 MPa. Using H₂O vapor as a foaming agent, this work reveals that CSP associated with the post-annealing technique is a feasible and eco-friendly methodology by which to prepare porous glass–ceramics.

Lepidocrocite-type layered sodium titanate (Na_xH_2−xTi₂O₅) is widely used in environmental remediation because of its large specific surface area, formed by anisotropic crystal growth, and its ability to store and exchange cations between layers. Additionally, peroxo-titanate nanotubes (PTNTs), which are tubular titanates with peroxy groups, exhibit visible-light absorption capabilities, rendering them suitable for photocatalytic applications under visible light irradiation. However, because of cation exchange reactions, the Na⁺ concentration and pH of the solution can fluctuate under aqueous conditions, affecting the photocatalytic performance of the PTNTs. Herein, we evaluated the impact of cation exchange reactions on the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (Rh B) by PTNTs at controlled Na⁺ ratios. The observed pH of Rh B solutions increases due to the cation exchange reaction with Na⁺ and H₃O⁺, leading to the formation of zwitter-ionic Rh B molecules, eventually weakening their adsorption and photodegradation performance. Moreover, the results indicate that inhibiting the pH increase of the Rh B solution can prevent the weakening of both the adsorption and photodegradation performance of PTNTs. This study highlights the significance of regulating the sodium ion content in layered titanate materials, emphasizing their importance in optimizing these materials’ photocatalytic efficacy for environmental purification applications.

A facile bottom-up method for the synthesis of lithium titanate nanoplates using a peroxo titanium complex ion precursor is reported. Instead of employing complicated treatment with high alkali concentration, the self-organization reaction between lithium and titanium ions in the prepared ion precursor can enable the formation of layered lithium titanate crystals (Li_2−xH_xTi₂O₅, where x = 0.1 and 1.52 for as-synthesise and acid-treated samples, respectively) under low alkaline conditions. We demonstrate that layered lithium titanate crystals can be grown anisotropically into individual nanoplates. Our work presents an easy and useful platform for the production of titanate materials with various morphologies based on the interaction with ionic species.