Facile synthesis of nanostrip-structured pseudo-boehmite “nest” for nano-TiO2/γ-Al2O3 construction to remove tetracycline hydrochloride in water

A particular bird's nest-like pseudo-boehmite (PB) composed of cohesive nanostrips was prepared by a novel and facile approach based on the reaction of Al–Ga–In–Sn alloy and water, together with ammonium carbonate. The PB possesses a large specific surface area (465.2 m2 g−1), pore volume (1.0 cm3 g−1), and pore diameter (8.7 nm). Subsequently, it was utilized as a precursor to form the TiO2/γ-Al2O3 nanocomposite for tetracycline hydrochloride removal. The removal efficiency can reach above 90% at TiO2:PB = 1:1.5 under the Sunlight irradiation simulated by a LED lamp. Our results indicate that the nest-like PB is a promising carrier precursor for efficient nanocomposite catalysts.