Organic pigment particles coated with titania via sol-gel process

This paper presented a novel method for the organic pigment coated with titania to improve the weatherability and dispersion ability in waterborne system. The organic pigment was first orderly adsorbed by two kinds of electrolyte: poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC), then coated by titania via sol-gel process from titanium n-butoxide (TBOT). The effects of the numbers of polyelectrolyte layer, water content, and TBOT content on the morphology, particle size, surface element composition, porosity and pore size, thermal stability, and UV shielding property of the organic pigment were systematically investigated. It was found that only two layers of electrolyte adsorption and one-step coating of titania could obviously enhance the UV shielding property even thermal stability of the organic pigment. The thickness of the titania layer could be easily tailored by TBOT content.     

Molecular imprinting in ultrathin titania gel films via surface sol-gel process

Recent progresses of molecular imprinting in metal oxide matrices were summarized. Application of the surface sol-gel process to mixtures of organic carboxylic acids and titanium alkoxide provides ultrathin layers of titania gel (10-20 nm thick), in which molecule-sized cavities are kept intact upon removal of the organic templates. The imprinted cavity reflects the structural and functional features of the template molecule, and the enantioselective imprinting of dipeptide isomers is observed. Robustness and flexibility of the ultrathin titania layer is demonstrated by the formation of interconnected titania hollow structures. Possible practical applications and unsolved problems of this technique are discussed.     

Preparation of titania colloids by thermal hydrolysis of urea and densification behavior of the collid-derived monolithic titania gels

Hydrous titania colloids with different sizes and shapes were prepared from urea-containing TiCl₄ solutions by controlled thermal hydrolysis of urea. Very small colloidal particles (Sw=280–290 m²/g) with anatase structure were precipitated from aqueous HCl solutions of [TiCl₄] <1.0 mol/dm³ and [urea] >16.6 mol/dm³. Sols containing such colloids could be converted to translucent monolithic gels. A decrease in urea concentration ([urea]=8.3 mol/dm³) caused the production of aggregated rutile-type particles with a large aspect ratio, from which only titania powder was obtained. Heating of a monolithic gel above 500°C resulted in the accelerated densification of the gel. A highly densified titania with 96% of theoretical density was produced from the monolithic gel after heating at 700°C for 6 h.     

Effect of phosphate ions in the properties of titania sol-gel

Sol-gel titania was phosphated in two different ways: i) “in situ” phosphation using phosphoric acid as hydrolysis catalyst in the titanium butoxide gelling system, and ii) gelling with nitric acid and impregnation with ammonium phosphate solution. In calcined samples at 600°C a positive effect on the specific surface area for the “in situ” phosphated sample was found. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the presence of phosphates ions stabilized the anatase phase. FTIR-pyridine adsorption identified only Lewis acid sites in phosphated samples. In the isopropanol decomposition for “in situ” phosphated titania, the activity was six times higher than that obtained for titania phosphated by impregnation, showing strong acidity for the in situ phosphated TiO₂ catalyst.     

Phase evolution of sol-gel CaO-ZrO2 using sulfuric acid as hydrolysis catalyst

Several compositions in the CaO-ZrO₂ system were synthesized from zirconium n-butoxide and calcium methoxide, by the sol-gel method. Hydrolysis and gelation occurred at pH 3, using H₂SO₄ as hydrolysis catalyst. Fresh gels were annealed in air at 100 to 900°C, in 100°C steps every 20 h, for a total annealing time of 140 h. Analysis by X-ray diffraction showed the formation of hydrated calcium sulfate together with amorphous zirconia up to 400°C. At the ZrO₂ rich-end, tetragonal and monoclinic zirconia solid solutions were stabilized in the presence of Ca ions. When 20 and 30 wt% of CaO were added, cubic zirconia and CaZrO₃ solid solutions were observed above 700°C. At the CaO rich-end, the coexistence of calcium carbonate polymorphs as vaterite and calcite were observed. Anhydrite was present across the entire range of compositions studied from 300 to 900°C.     

Effects of annealing treatment on the properties of MEH-PPV/titania hybrids prepared via in situ sol-gel reaction

A uniform poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV)/titania hybrid film was successfully prepared by an in situ sol-gel reaction of titanium isopropoxide (TIP) in the presence of MEH-PPV/2-chlorophenol solution. The annealing treatment increased the conversion of TIP to titania as determined from evidence of the formation of Ti-O-Ti bonds in the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum. Scanning electronic microscope (SEM) photographs showed that the morphology and distribution of titania in the hybrid film were strongly related to the amount of water in the in situ sol-gel reaction. The thermal stability of MEH-PPV/titania hybrids was enhanced by the annealing treatment. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses indicated that annealing treatment promoted the ordered aggregation of the MEH-PPV chains and crystallization of titania to a certain extent. The blue shift in Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption of pure MEH-PPV after annealing was ascribed to the small extent of decomposition and coil conformation which occurred at high temperature. A more-obvious blue shift for the hybrids was observed, which resulted from irregular aggregation and coil conformation of the MEH-PPV chains induced by heterogeneous point, TIP (titania). The red shift in the photoluminescent (PL) emission for pure MEH-PPV resulted from a certain extent of ordered aggregation after annealing. However, only a slight red shift in the PL emission peak for the hybrids was found due to the hindrance of ordered aggregation of MEH-PPV chains in the presence of TIP (titania).     

Effect of thermal dehydration on surface characteristics of titania gel

The surface properties of titania gel and its thermal dehydration products were investigated by nitrogen and water vapour sorption between 110 and 600°C. Structural and phase changes were studied by X-ray diffractometry and differential thermal analysis. Up to 200°C, samples were X-ray amorphous and formed anatase at 300, 450 and 600°C. The glow phenomenon is attributed to the conversion to anatase at 350°C.Thermal dehydration of the gel between 110 and 300°C and 600°C led to the widening of the pore radii of the gel. At 450°C, marked steps appeared on the nitrogen isotherm, and was accompanied by a sharp increase in nitrogen uptake. The stepwise character is attributed to the presence of a certain porosity characteristic of the gel.Heats of immersion in water depend mainly on the hydrophilic centres on the surface, whereas heats of immersion in cyclohexane are controlled by the micropore fraction of the gel.     

Platinum acetylacetonate effect on sol-gel derived titania catalysts

The band gap (Eg) of sol-gel derived titania has been determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy. When platinum acetylacetonate was added during titanium tetrabutoxide gelation, a significant diminution of the band gap was observed. Low Eg values were stabilized on heat-treated platinum/titania samples.     

Effect of ultraviolet irradiation on crystallization behavior and surface microstructure of titania in the sol-gel process

Nanosized titania was prepared at various hydrolysis ratios (r=H₂O/Ti) by photo-assisted and conventional sol-gel methods. It was found that hydrolysis ratio and ultraviolet irradiation greatly affect the titania crystallization behavior. The introduction of photo-irradiation benefits anatase formation throughout a wide range of hydrolysis ratio. XPS results show that hydrolysis reaction was promoted by ultraviolet irradiation. In addition, photo-irradiation was also verified to be in favor of the generation of large specific surface area and high crystallinity, which resulted in relative high photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ prepared by a photo-assisted sol-gel method.     

Influence of water/alkoxide ratio in the synthesis of nanosized sol-gel titania on the release of phenytoin

The sol-gel method was used to synthesize inorganic reservoirs with encapsulated antiepileptic drug phenytoin. The drug release profile was shown to depend on the morphology and surface properties of the matrix. A parameter of the synthesis such as water/alkoxide ratio r(w) was varied in order to investigate its influence on the matrix properties and as a result on the drug release profile. It was found that the specific surface area and crystallization degree decrease with an increase of r(w), whereas the hydroxyl group coverage increases with an increase of r(w). Drug release kinetics studies revealed that the initial release rate increases with an increase of water content in the reaction, whereas the long time release rate first slightly increases with an increase of water content from 4 to 8 and then decreases for r(w) = 16. The interplay of different parameters of the matrix is shown to be responsible for such a dependence and is discussed in the Article.     

Electrochemical analysis of the sol-gel synthesis of phosphonate-modified titania through the diffusion of a functionalised ferrocene

Titanium oxide/phenylphosphonate hybrids were prepared by a two-step sol-gel processing, in the presence of ferrocenylphosphonic acid as an electrochemical probe. We showed that as expected the diffusion of the redox species was related to the kinetics of the sol-gel polymerization. The probable passage through cluster Ti₄O(OⁱPr)₈(PhPO₃)₃ has been confirmed by the electrochemical response under partial hydrolysis conditions.     

Nano sulfated titania as solid acid catalyst in direct synthesis of fatty acid amides

Nanosized sulfated titania was prepared by a sol-gel hydrothermal process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron, and scanning electron micrographs (TEM and SEM), FT-IR specific surface area, and BET N(2) adsorption were employed to characterize the properties of the synthesized sulfated TiO(2). The results indicate that both anatase and rutile TiO(2) are obtainable. This prepared sulfated titania showed high catalytic activity in direct amidation of fatty acids as well as benzoic acids with various amines under solvent-free conditions.     

Template synthesis of titania on polysaccharides

Template synthesis of titania was conducted in solutions of polysaccharides, xanthan and sodium hyaluronan, prepared in ethylene glycol and on cellulose fibrils placed in ethylene glycol. The process was controlled by the addition of water in amounts sufficient only for the hydration of polysaccharides. When the precursor of TiO₂, tetra(isopropyl) orthotitanate, was added, the fast reactions of hydrolysis and condensation were triggered only after its contact with water, which provided the precipitation of titania on xanthan and sodium hyaluronan macromolecules or on cellulose fibrils. The morphology of the synthesized TiO₂ samples depended on the reagent concentrations in a reaction mixture. Amorphous titania was transformed by calcination into the crystalline state. Some of the obtained TiO₂ samples have rather high photocatalytic activity comparable to that of the commercial photocatalysts.     

Photoinduced oxidation of benzhydrol over lanthana modified sol-gel titania

Lanthana modified sol-gel titania is prepared through particulate sol-gel route and the physico-chemical characterizations of the prepared systems were done using X-Ray diffration, EDX, BET surface area-pore volume measurements and TG-DTG analysis. Benzophenone was observed to be the sole product in the TiO₂ photocatalyzed oxidation of benzhydrol in oxygen purged acetonitrile. The influence of various parameters, like irradiation time, amount of catalyst, concentration of the catalyst and other factors on the photocatalytic oxidation has been investigated. The proposed mechanism envisages the involvement of a superoxide radical anion.     

Optimization of the conditions of acid hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane and identification of primary products of sol-gel synthesis

The effect of the reactant ratio in the Si(OEt)₄-H₂O-EtOH-HCl system on the hydrolytic polycondensation of tetraethoxysilane and gelation rate was examined. A mass-spectrometric study showed that the primary products of the sol-gel process are linear and cyclic oligosiloxanes containing hydroxy and ethoxy groups at the silicon atoms.     

Ultrasound-assisted synthesis of titania hydrosols

0.0021–0.44 M TiO₂ hydrosols have been prepared by an ultrasound-assisted method using titania hydrogel precipitated from TiCl₄ solution. The hydrosols contain amorphous primary titania particles ～5 nm in size, combined into aggregations having average sizes of 22–51 nm.     

Kinetics of the thermal treatment of an iron-molybdenum catalyst

The samples of iron molybdate obtained by the mixing of the solutions of ammonium heptamolybdate and iron nitrate were studied by thermal analysis. The temperature ranges and kinetic parameters of dehydration processes, the decomposition of impurities, and a topochemical reaction between iron and molybdenum oxides were determined. Data on the concentrations of solid phase components as functions of the temperature and duration of heat treatment were acquired.     

Cellulose hydrolysis catalyzed by highly acidic lignin-derived carbonaceous catalyst synthesized via hydrothermal carbonization

Acidic carbonaceous solids were synthesized from mass pine alkali lignin via hydrothermal carbonization followed by sulfonation. Hydrothermal carbonization of lignin in the presence of acrylic acid (LAHC-SO₃H) provided many more carboxylic groups than that in the absence of acrylic acid, allowing subsequent sulfonation to produce a highly active and stable catalyst for cellulose hydrolysis in the [BMIM]Cl-H₂O solvent system. The hydrochar and catalyst were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller and acid–base titration. Results showed that a high acid content of 5.48 mmol/g, including carboxylic group (2.85 mmol/g), phenolic hydroxyl group (1.05 mmol/g) and sulfonic acid group (1.58 mmol/g), contributed significantly to the highly efficient hydrolysis of cellulose. Further, it was found that addition of trace water in [BMIM]Cl was favorable to cellulose hydrolysis. The highest yield (75.4%) of total reducing sugar (TRS) obtained in [BMIM]Cl-H₂O at a mass ratio of 100:1 was more than twice that (36.1%) achieved in [BMIM]Cl without water; the corresponding reaction conditions were 50 mg of microcrystalline cellulose, 30 mg of catalyst, 1.0 g of [BMIM]Cl, 10 mg of H₂O, reaction temperature of 130 °C and reaction time of 2 h. Furthermore, the TRS yield with 5 cycles for LAHC-SO₃H was higher than 68.1%, and the catalytic activity of catalyst could be fully recovered (74.0% of TRS yield) easily by regeneration.     

Photocatalytic properties of Ru-doped titania prepared by homogeneous hydrolysis

Nanocrystalline titania particles doped with ruthenium oxide have been prepared by the homogenous hydrolysis of TiOSO₄ in aqueous solutions in the presence of urea. The synthesized particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED) and Nitrogen adsorption-desorption was used for surface area (BET) and porosity determination (BJH). The photocatalytic activity of the Ru-doped titania samples were determined by photocatalytic decomposition of Orange II dye in an aqueous slurry during irradiation at 365 nm and 400 nm wavelengths.      

Effect of catalyst mass on CVD synthesis of carbon nanotubes

Method for obtaining carbon nanotubes by chemical vapor deposition on metal oxide catalysts produced by the reaction of transition metal nitrates with glycine was considered. The process of synthesis of carbon nanotubes was experimentally studied at various reaction durations, temperatures, and amounts of a catalyst. It was found that the ash content of the product and the content of impurities depend on the amount of a catalyst. A reactor design raising the output capacity of the process for synthesis of carbon nanotubes is suggested.