Preparation and characterization of novel yellow pigments: hollow TiO2 spheres doped with cerium

Ce-doped TiO2 hollow yellow pigment particles were synthesized by coupling template-directed method with Pechini sol–gel process. The effects of water content, ethanol/acetonitrile volume ratio and tetrabutyl orthotitanate concentration, on the fabrication of PS@TiO2 composite particles (the key intermediate product) were investigated and the final pigments were characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV–vis diffuse reflection. The results show that the optimal water content and ethanol/acetonitrile volume ratio are 0.09 mol dm−3 and 3:1, respectively, for the construction of neat PS@TiO2 core–shell structure without secondary titania particles, and that the damage of hollow spheres can be avoided by increasing the shell thickness, and that the prepared hollow spheres were well-crystallised with anatase phase TiO2 and cubic CeO2. Owing to the intrinsic yellow color and lower density, the as-prepared hollow pigments can be expected to be used for color electronic paper display.