One-Step Microemulsion-Mediated Hydrothermal Synthesis of Nanocrystalline TiO₂

Xuyao Xu, Xiaosong Zhou, Lin Ma, Miaoyan Mo, Cuifen Ren, Rongkai Pan

School of Chemistry Science & Technology, Institute of Physical Chemistry, and Development Center for New Materials Engineering & Technology in Universities of Guangdong, Zhanjiang Normal University, Zhanjiang, China.
School of Chemistry Science & Technology, Institute of Physical Chemistry, and Development Center for New Materials Engineering & Technology in Universities of Guangdong, Zhanjiang Normal University, Zhanjiang,China.

DOI: 10.4236/wjnse.2014.41005                

Abstract

Nanocrystalline TiO2 powders with high photocatalytic activity were prepared by one-step microemulsion-mediated hydrothermal method using tetrabutylorthotitanate (TiO(C₄H₉)₄, TBOT) as precursor. The as-prepared TiO₂ powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area measurements. The effects of the oil/water ratio and hydrothermal temperature on the microstructures and photocatalytic activity of the TiO₂ powders were investigated. The results suggest that increasing the oil/water emulsion ratio significantly decreased the particle size of the as-prepared TiO₂ powders and improved the photocatalytic activity. With hydrothermal temperature increasing, the average crystallite size increased and the photocatalytic activities of TiO₂ powders decreased.

Keywords

Titanium Dioxide; Microemulsion; Hydrothermal Method; Photocatalytic Activity

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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