A simple sol - Gel processing for the development of high-temperature stable photoactive anatase titania

Sibu C. Padmanabhan, Suresh C. Pillai, John Colreavy, Sivakumar Balakrishnan, Declan E. McCormack, Tatiana S. Perova, Yurii Gun'ko, Steven J. Hinder, John M. Kellys

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

126 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A method for the preparation of anatase TiO2, which is stable to a temperature as high as 900°C, without using any complex cationic dopants is presented. The synthetic procedure involves the reaction of titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) followed by hydrolysis and sol - gel conversion to the xerogel and further calcination. The retention of the anatase phase to high temperatures can be attributed to the presence of small amounts of fluorine in the lattice, which is gradually removed between 500 and 900°C as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis. Samples prepared with a 1:16 TTIP/TFA composition calcined at 900°C showed significantly higher photocatalytic activity compared to the control sample, standard commercial photocatalyst Degussa P25, and samples prepared using acetic acid and oxalic acid. The high-temperature anatase phase stability, determined by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, coupled with its high crystallinity, microporosity, and minimal oxygen vacancy contributes to improved photocatalytic activity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4474-4481
Number of pages8
JournalChemistry of Materials
Volume19
Issue number18
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Sep 2007
Externally publishedYes

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