Rapid synthesis of TiO₂ nanocrystal in aqueous solution at room temperature

Abstract

In the presented work, we develop an original simple, green, and rapid protocol to prepare anatase titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanocrystal in aqueous solution at room temperature. The secret of this chemical process is the use of ammonium persulfate ((NH₄)₂S₂O₈) as initiator in the presence of titanium butoxide (Ti(C₄H₉O)₄) as precursor. The reaction was conducted at room temperature which make this protocol very useful and efficient. The high crystallinity of the obtained TiO₂ nanocrystal was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and high-resolution microscopy, both size and shape were observed by transmission electron microscopy. The average particle size of TiO₂ nanocrystal was found to be 7 nm with quasi-spherical shape. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy technique was performed to confirm the purity of the final product and the oxidation state of titanium. The optical property of the as-prepared TiO₂ nanocrystal was studied using UV-visible spectroscopy. The thermal stability was measured using differential thermal analysis combined with thermogravimetric analysis. The decrease of TiO₂ nanocrystal size affects well the absorption spectrum of TiO₂ (UV absorption peak shift from 340 to 325 nm) and therefore affects their photocatalytic activity. This chemical process offers many advantages compared to previous works especially the soft synthesis condition (room temperature, reaction occurs instantly and the aqueous medium) which make it a very promising fast wet chemical process.

Keywords:

• Titanium dioxide
• ammonium persulfate
• nanoparticles
• optical materials and properties
• nanocrystalline materials

Additional information

Funding

Taif University Researchers Supporting Project number (TURSP-2020/04), Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.