Preparation of nanocrystalline anatase TiO2 using basic sol-gel method

Nanocrystalline titanium dioxide particles with anatase structure and high thermal stability have been synthesized using the basic sol-gel method. The particle size and morphology were refined under hydrothermal conditions in the presence of different concentrations of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) at 210°C and 230°C. XRD and TEM analysis showed that the TiO₂ particles obtained were homogeneous and monodispersive at low contents of TMAH. All intense peaks, clearly observed in the XRD patterns, were assigned to the anatase phase and no rutile phase was observed. At high contents of TMAH, nanoscale small (10–30 nm) and larger (>100 nm) TiO₂ particles were one-pot synthesized. The nanocrystalline TiO₂ particles synthesized by this method have good thermal stability. With the sintering temperature of up to 650°C, all the XRD peaks maintained good agreement with the anatase reference data.     

Preparation of TiO2 nano-particle photocatalysts by a multi-gelation method: the effect of pH change

TiO₂ photocatalysts were prepared by a multi-gelation method and the effect of the changes in the pH during the pH swing times, i.e., by a controlled pH swing, on the morphology of the TiO₂ particles was investigated. The photocatalytic properties of the TiO₂ catalysts prepared by controlled pH swing were compared with TiO₂ particles prepared without adjusting the pH during the swing times. The photocatalytic degradation reaction of these TiO₂ catalysts was investigated by comparing their effectiveness in 2-propanol oxidation. The experimental results showed that the TiO₂ photocatalysts prepared without adjusting the pH performed better in controlling the important parameters of the catalysts such as particle size, surface area, anatase/rutile phase ratio and pore size, as well as pore volume than the TiO₂ photocatalysts prepared by a controlled pH swing method. Deceased.     

Preparation of TiO2 Sol Using TiCl4 as a Precursor

A titanium dioxide sol with narrow particle size distribution was synthesized using TiCl₄ as the starting material. The sol was prepared by a process where HCl was added to a gel of hydrated titanium oxide to dissolve it. The resulting aqueous titanic acid solution was heated to form titanium dioxide sol. The effects of preparation parameters were investigated. TiCl₄ was slowly added to distilled water at 5°C. Aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide was added to adjust the pH of the system to 8–12. After aging for a period of time, the peptized sol was filtered and sufficiently washed. The filtered cake was repulped in water. Hydrochloric acid was slowly added to the solution with stirring. After condensation reaction and crystallization, a transparent sol with suspended TiO₂ was formed. XRD results show that the crystalline phase was anatase. The suspended TiO₂ particles were rhombus primary particles with the major axis ca. 20 nm and the minor axis ca. 5 nm. The TiO₂ particles prepared at pH 8 had the largest surface area of 141 cm³/g and it was microporous. The compositions of the solution which yielded the smallest suspended TiO₂ particles were TiO₂:HCl (35% HCl) = 1:1 (molar ratio), concentration of TiO₂ = 10%. Hydroxypropyl cellulose with viscosity of 150–400 cps was added as a dispersant. The sol was excellent in dispersibility and long-term stability. Transparent thin films could be obtained through dip-coating glass substrate in the sol. The dip-coating on glass can be less than three times to have one monolayer TiO₂. The transparent TiO₂ thin film had strong hydrophilicity after being illuminated by UV light.     

Coaxial Electrospinning Method for the Preparation of TiO2@CdS/PVA Composite Nanofiber Mat and Investigation on its Photodegradation Catalysis

TiO₂/PVA composite nanofiber mat was prepared via an electrospinning technology. SH‐TiO₂‐SiO₂ hybrid particles and PVA solution were injected through a coaxial syringe, yielding a composite nanofiber mat. The as‐prepared SH‐TiO₂‐SiO₂/PVA composite nanofiber mat was immersed in Cd²⁺ cation solution and S^2? anion solution in turn. Thus, yellow TiO₂@CdS/PVA composite nanofiber mats were prepared. By adjusting the number of times a mat was immersed in the Cd²⁺ and S^2? solutions, different amounts of CdS particles attaching to the mats were obtained. Both SH‐TiO₂‐SiO₂/PVA and TiO₂@CdS/PVA composite nanofiber mats were employed to catalyze the photodegradation of a model dye, methylene blue. The photodegradation performance could be greatly enhanced by the introduction of CdS particles anchoring onto TiO₂ particles. The photodegradation efficiency reached 99.2% within 180 min. Also, the nanofiber mat could be recycled and reused at least 10 times. The photodegradation efficiency of TiO₂@CdS/PVA composite nanofiber mats remained 68.8% for 10 cycles.     

Photocatalytic Crystalline and Amorphous TiO2 Nanotubes Prepared by Electrospinning and Atomic Layer Deposition

In this work core/shell composite polymer/TiO₂ nanofibers and from those TiO₂ nanotubes were prepared. First, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) fibers were synthetized by electrospinning. They were covered with a 100 nm thick amorphous TiO₂ layer by atomic layer deposition at 50 °C. Later the polymer core was removed by two different methods: dissolution and annealing. In the case of dissolution in water, the as-prepared TiO₂ nanotubes remained amorphous, while when annealing was used to remove the polymers, the TiO₂ crystallized in anatase form. Due to this, the properties of amorphous and crystalline TiO₂ nanotubes with exactly the same structure and morphology could be compared. The samples were investigated by SEM-EDX, ATR-IR, UV-Vis, XRD and TG/DTA-MS. Finally, the photocatalytic properties of the TiO₂ nanotubes were studied by decomposing methyl-orange dye under UV light. According to the results, crystalline anatase TiO₂ nanotubes reached the photocatalytic performance of P25, while amorphous TiO₂ nanotubes had observable photocatalytic activity.     

Sol–gel reactions of titanium alkoxides and water: influence of pH and alkoxy group on cluster formation and properties of the resulting products

In this work the effect of pH and the titanium precursor on the cluster and particle formation during titanium alkoxide based sol–gel processes was investigated using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The influence of pH and the titanium precursor on the particle size, morphology, crystallinity and chemical composition of the resulting particles were investigated using differentiel scanning calometry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), BET-adsorption isotherms and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). ESI-MS investigation of the titanium clusters present during the nucleation and growth period showed that the number of titanium atoms in the clusters varied dependent on the alkoxide used. Moreover, it was found that the titanium clusters formed using titanium tetraethoxide (TTE) were smaller than the clusters formed by titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and titanium tetrabutoxide (TTB) under similar conditions. pH was not found to influence the nature of the titanium clusters present in the sol–gel solution. HR-TEM investigation of the TiO₂ particles prepared at pH 7 and 10 showed that the primary particle size of the particles was around 3 nm. However, it was found that these primary particles aggregated to form larger secondary particles in the size order of 300–500 nm range. At pH 3 the particles grew significantly during the drying process due to destabilization of the colloidal solution leading to the formation of a gel. The highest specific surface area was found for particles synthesized under neutral or alkaline conditions based on TTIP. XRD analysis of the TiO₂ particles showed that the particles synthesized at 25 °C were amorphous. First after heating the samples to above 300 °C the formation of anatase were observed.     

Crystal phase evolution of TiO2 nanoparticles with reaction time in acidic solutions studied via freeze-drying method

The crystal phase evolution of TiO₂ nanoparticles, during hydrolysis and condensation of titanium tetraisopropoxide, was quenched at various reaction times by a freeze-drying method, followed by various characterizations. Three types of solutions with different acid input times were studied: (1) addition in infinite time (no addition), (2) addition at 24 h after the hydrolysis/condensation reaction started, and (3) addition from the beginning of the reaction. The acid-free solution yielded amorphous TiO₂, which transformed to anatase very slowly. The acid input in 24 h resulted in a fast transformation of amorphous to a metastable anatase having a highly distorted atomic arrangement: thereby its transformation to a more stable phase, rutile, was suitable. The acid addition from the beginning of the reaction yielded the formation of a relatively stable anatase from the hydrolysis seed, thereby the subsequent transformation to rutile was sluggish.     

Effect of silicon dioxide on the formation of the phase composition and pore structure of titanium dioxide with the anatase structure

The formation of the structure of titanium dioxide modified with silicon dioxide, which was introduced as tetraethyl orthosilicate, was studied. It was found that the formation of the nanocrystalline structure of TiO₂ occurred upon the modification of titanium dioxide with silicon dioxide. This nanocrystalline structure of TiO₂ was formed by highly dispersed anatase particles of size 6–10 nm stabilized by silicon oxide layers, which were formed upon the decomposition of tetraethyl orthosilicate. An increase in the modifier concentration resulted in a deceleration of the growth of anatase particles and an increase in the temperature of the phase transition of anatase to rutile. It was found that the anatase phase in the samples containing 5–15 wt % SiO₂ was stable up to 1000°C. The stabilization of highly dispersed anatase particles facilitated the retention of the developed fine-pore structure of xerogels with a pore diameter of 4 nm up to 900°C.     

TiO2纳米管阵列光电催化氧化处理氨氮废水

用电化学阳极氧化法制备了高度有序的钛基二氧化钛纳米管阵列薄膜。用场发射扫描电镜(FE-SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)表征样品的形貌与晶型特征。以二氧化钛纳米管阵列为光阳极,石墨为对电极,测试了不同pH值和外加偏压条件下的光电流响应和光电催化氧化降解NH4Cl水溶液(以N计,100 mg·L-1)的效率。结果表明:所制备的TiO2纳米管阵列具有锐钛矿和金红石的混晶结构,且主要晶型为锐钛矿。光电流响应的强弱与光电催化氧化效率的高低相对应,降解氨氮废水的最佳条件为pH=11,偏压为1.0 V。     

TiO2 nanotubes as recyclable catalyst for efficient photocatalytic degradation of indigo carmine dye

TiO₂ nanotubes have been synthesized in a hydrothermal system. The nanotubes were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), FT-Raman spectroscopy and surface charge density by surface area analyzer. These nanocatalysts were applied to photocatalyse indigo carmine dye degradation. Photodegradation ability of TiO₂ nanotubes was compared to TiO₂ anatase photoactivity. Indigo carmine dye was completely degraded at 60 and 110 min of reaction catalysed by TiO₂ nanotubes and TiO₂ anatase, respectively. TiO₂ nanotubes presented high photodegradation activity at pH 2 and TiO₂ anatase at pH 4. TiO₂ nanotubes were easily recycled whereas the reuse of TiO₂ anatase was not effective. Nanotubes maintained 90% of activity after 10 catalytic cycles and TiO₂ anatase presented only 10% of its activity after 10 cycles.     

Morphological and phase evolution of TiO2 nanocrystals prepared from peroxotitanate complex aqueous solution: Influence of acetic acid

Nanosized anatase and rutile TiO₂ having different shape, phase and size have been prepared from aqueous solutions of peroxo titanium complex starting from titanium(IV) isopropoxide (TTIP), acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in water/isopropanol media by a facile sol-gel process. The TiO₂ nanocrystals are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, TEM, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) techniques. The influence of pH and the sequence of addition of reaction contents on the phase and morphology of TiO₂ are studied. The reasons for the observation of only anatase and/or mixture of anatase and rutile are given.     

Synthesis of bimodal porous structured TiO2 microsphere with high photocatalytic activity for water treatment

In this work bimodal structured titanium dioxide (TiO₂) microsphere has been prepared from commercial TiO₂ powder and nano-sized titania gel via sol–gel spray-coating technique. Crystallization and transformation behavior of titania gel were investigated. The results revealed that the crystallization and transformation of anatase particles were substantially affected by the concentration of solvent and calcination temperature. Anatase crystallite size of 10 nm was obtained at mole ratio of solvent/precursor 50/1 and calcination temperature of 450 °C. The prepared nano-sized titania gel was embedded within the core (commercial TiO₂, P25) during the spraying process. The prepared TiO₂ microsphere was characterized using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), field emission electron microscope (FESEM) and micropore analysis. The photocatalytic activity was monitored by following the degradation of phenol with activity benchmarked against commercial P25 (Degussa). The increase of photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ microsphere was attributed to the nano-sized anatase crystallite which has been incorporated into the TiO₂ microsphere.     

Synthesis of Bi-doped TiO2 Nanotubes and Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity for Hydrogen Evolution from Glycerol Solution

Bi‐doped TiO₂ nanotubes with variable Bi/Ti ratios were synthesized by hydrothermal treatment in 10 mol·L^?1 NaOH (aq.) through using Bi‐doped TiO₂ particles derived from conventional sol‐gel method as starting materials. The effects of Bi content on the morphology, textural properties, photo absorption and photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ nanotubes were investigated. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) observations of the obtained samples revealed the formation of titanate nanotube structure doped with Bi, which exists as a higher oxidation state than Bi³⁺. Bi‐doping TiO₂ nanotubes exhibited an extension of light absorption into the visible region and improved photocatalytic activities for hydrogen production from a glycerol/water mixed solution as compared with pure TiO₂ nanotubes. There was an optimal Bi‐doped content for the photocatalytic hydrogen production, and high content of Bi would retard the phase transition of titanate to anatase and result in morphology change from nanotube to nanobelt, which in turn decreases the photocatlytic activity for hydrogen evolution.     

Synthesis of Spherical Titanium Dioxide Particles by Homogeneous Precipitation in Acetone Solution

Titania powders were synthesized by thermal hydrolysis of titanium tetrachloride in a mixed solvent was studied. The dielectric constant was tuned by regulating the acetone/water volume ratio (R/H ratio) and temperature of the solvent. Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) was used as a steric dispersant. The synthesis were carried out at R/H ratios of 0–4, temperatures of 70–90°C, TiCl₄ concentrations of 0.05–0.2 M, HPC concentrations of 0–5 × 10^–3 g/cm³, and synthesis times of 15–60 min. The TiO₂ particles obtained at an R/H ratio of 0, i.e., pure water system, were fine and agglomerated. In contrast, the TiO₂ particles prepared at an R/H ratio of 3 were uniform and spherical. The TiO₂ particle size increased with increasing TiCl₄ concentration. The synthesis temperature did not influence the particle size, but greatly influenced the morphologyof the TiO₂. Adding HPC to the solution yielded more uniform and spherical particles. In addition, the synthesis time should be longer than 30 min to obtain the most uniform and spherical particles. The dielectric constant of the acetone-water mixed solvent at 28 gave the most uniform and spherical TiO₂ particles. The powders prepared at the condition of 0.1 M TiCl₄, R/H ratio of 3, HPC concentration of 0.001 g/cm³, temperature of 70°C, and synthesis time of 1 h exhibited the most uniform and spherical morphology. The as-synthesized powder was anatase and retained the phase below 400°C. It transformed to the rutile phase after calcination at 700°C.     

二氧化钛催化超声波损伤牛血清白蛋白的研究

利用紫外可见(UV-Vis)光谱和荧光(FL)光谱研究了二氧化钛(TiO₂)催化超声波照射对牛血清白蛋白(BSA)的损伤作用，同时对金红石型和锐钛矿型TiO₂的催化性能进行了比较，并探讨了照射时间，TiO₂加入量，溶液酸度，超声波功率和离子强度等因素对BSA分子损伤的影响。结果表明，金红石型TiO₂的催化效果明显好于锐钛矿型TiO₂。在一定条件下，BSA分子的损伤程度随着照射时间的延长、照射功率和溶液酸度的增大而增大，而TiO₂的加入量和离子强度对BSA分子损伤的影响则较为复杂。     

Effect of the microstructure of the supported catalysts CuO/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and CuO/(CeO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>) on their catalytic properties in carbon monoxide oxidation

The effect of the microstructure of titanium dioxide on the structure, thermal stability, and catalytic properties of supported CuO/TiO₂ and CuO/(CeO₂-TiO₂) catalysts in CO oxidation was studied. The formation of a nanocrystalline structure was found in the CuO/TiO₂ catalysts calcined at 500°C. This nanocrystalline structure consisted of aggregated fine anatase particles about 10 nm in size and interblock boundaries between them, in which Cu²⁺ ions were stabilized. Heat treatment of this catalyst at 700°C led to a change in its microstructure with the formation of fine CuO particles 2.5–3 nm in size, which were strongly bound to the surface of TiO₂ (anatase) with a regular well-ordered crystal structure. In the CuO/(CeO₂-TiO₂) catalysts, the nanocrystalline structure of anatase was thermally more stable than in the CuO/TiO₂ catalyst, and it persisted up to 700°C. The study of the catalytic properties of the resulting catalysts showed that the CuO/(CeO₂-TiO₂) catalysts with the nanocrystalline structure of anatase were characterized by the high-est activity in CO oxidation to CO₂.     

Preparation of nanocrystalline TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> powders for photocatalytic oxidation of phenol

Nanocrystalline TiO₂ powders in the anatase, rutile, and mixed phases prepared by hydrolysis of TiCl₄ solution were of ultrafine size (<7.2 nm) with high specific surface areas in the range 167 to 388 m²/g. In the photocatalytic degradation of phenol as model reaction, the photocatalytic properties of TiO₂ nanoparticles were evaluated by use of UV–vis absorption spectroscopy and total organic carbon (TOC) content. The synthetic mixed-phase TiO₂ powder calcined at 400 °C had higher activity than pure anatase or rutile; it degraded more than 90% phenol to CO₂ (evaluated by TOC) after irradiation with near UV light for 90 min at a catalyst loading of 0.4 g/L. The TOC results indicated that rutile TiO₂ crystallites of particle size 7.2 nm resulted in much better photocatalytic performance than particles of larger size. This result suggested that some intermediates, not determined by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, existed in the solution after the photocatalytic process over the rutile TiO₂ photocatalysts of larger crystallite size.     

Formation of Anatase Nanocrystals in Sol-Gel Derived TiO2-SiO2 Thin Films with Hot Water Treatment

We have successfully prepared transparent and porous anatase nanocrystals-dispersed films by treating the sol-gel derived TiO₂-SiO₂ films containing poly(ethylene glycol), PEG, with hot water. This process was done at temperatures lower than 100°C under atmospheric pressure, and thus anatase nanocrystals-dispersed films can be formed on various kinds of substrates including organic polymers with poor heat resistance. The changes in structure and composition of the TiO₂-SiO₂ gel films with hot water treatment were related to the formation process of anatase nanocrystals in the TiO₂-SiO₂ gel films with hot water treatment. The formation of anatase nanocrystals was found to proceed to hydrolysis of Si–O–Ti bonds and dissolution of SiO₂ component. In addition, porous film structure formed by leaching of PEG with hot water treatment led to homogenous dispersion of anatase nonocrystals in the films.     

On the Formation of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Nanoparticles Via Submerged Arc Discharge Technique: Synthesis,Characterization and Photocatalytic Properties

We report a simple and inexpensive synthesis route of TiO₂ nanoparticles using electrical arc discharge between titanium electrodes in oxygen bubbled deionized (DI) water followed by heat treatment. The resulting nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD patterns demonstrate formation of TiO₂ phase in oxygen bubbled water after heat treatment and dominance of rutile to anatase phase. The size and morphology of TiO₂ nanoparticles were studied using different arc currents as a crucial parameter in properties of final product. Microscopic studies reveal nanosize spherical particles. DLS results indicate that at 20 A arc current, the size of the particles is about 37 nm and increases to 59 nm by increasing the arc current up to 40 A. Photodegradation of Rhodamine B (Rh. B) as a standard pollution shows that heat treated samples in oxygen bubbled water for 2 h at 500 °C, have more photocatalytic activity due to enhancement in crystallinity.     

Synthesis of TiO2 hollow spheres using binary ionic liquids as an electrocatalyst

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂ titania) hollow sphere was simply synthesized using various ionic liquids (ILs). The shape and size of TiO₂ particles were significantly different with the composition of ILs. This is mainly attributed to the interaction between organic solvent and IL at the interface leading to the formation of sphere. Among the binary ILs, [Bmim][BF₄] + [Omim][PF₆], [Bmim][BF₄] + [Omim][PF₆], and [Bmim][PF₆] + [Hmim][PF₆] were useful to prepare TiO₂ nanostructures with high surface area and anatase phase. Especially, [Bmim][BF₄] + [Omim][PF₆] was the most effective IL to synthesize an anatase TiO₂ hollow sphere.