A study on the synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 derived nanostructures

Syntheses of TiO2 derived nanostructures have been conducted at 210 degrees C by hydrothermal reaction of commercial TiO2-P25 (Degussa, Germany) in 10 M NaOH aqueous solution. High purity of the as-produced material was confirmed by scanning and transmission electron microscope analyses. The crystallographic structure, as well as the optical and vibronic properties of this material were examined by X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance (DR) UV-Vis, resonance Raman spectroscopic methods, respectively. Detailed analysis of the phase composition revealed that the rod-like structures are made up of sodium tetratitanate (Na2Ti4O9). It was also observed that acid treatment of the material (hydrothermal reaction) led to a decrease in the diameters of the nanorods. Finally, the photocatalytic activity of the investigated nanostructures was examined, by observing the reaction photocatalytic decolourisation of two organic dyes (Reactive Red 198 and Reactive Black 5) under UV-light irradiation.