Mixed-phase TiO2 nanoparticles preparation using sol-gel method

Biphase TiO2 nanoparticles have been prepared by sol-gel method. Water/titanium molar ratio (r) has been used to control the hydrolysis and condensation of titanium isopropoxide in solution producing titanium oxide with two different polymorphs. The influence of crystallite size and morphology of prepared TiO2 on the phase transformation of the resultant materials has been investigated. Synthesized powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Different trends can be observed in the phase transformation and particle growth of the prepared titanium oxide nanomaterial. It was concluded that, the rate of particle growth and the final particle size as well as phase transformation were a function of molar ratios (r). The percentage of rutile in the final material was 23%. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.