Porous titania ceramic prepared by mimicking silicified wood

A porous titania ceramic with a woodlike microstructure that was analogous to silicified wood was prepared. The production of "titanified wood" was performed using the following process: (i) introduction of titanium tetraisopropoxide into wood materials via vacuum infiltration, (ii) hydrolysis of the titanium tetraisopropoxide in the cell structure to form a titania gel, and (iii) firing at a temperature of 600 degrees-1400 degrees C in air. The resulting titania ceramic had the same external and internal forms of the original wood.