Comparative Analysis of Physicochemical Properties of Rutile TiO2 with Hierarchical 3D Architecture Prepared by Liquid Hydrolysis of TiCl4 and Hydrothermal Method

TiO2 (nitile) samples with a hierarchical 3D nanostructure of the particles were synthesized by two methods: liquid hydrolysis of TiCl4 at 90 degrees C and atmospheric pressure; hydrothermal synthesis from TiCl4 at 160 degrees C and different [H2O]/[Ti] ratios. The effect exerted by conditions of the synthesis and post-treatments on the crystallite size, morphology, electronic properties and pore structure of the rutile samples was investigated. It was shown that severe hydrothermal conditions with the ratio [H2O]/[Ti] = 20 provide the formation of a more perfect crystal structure of rutile with a smaller band gap energy (3.00 eV against 3.06 eV for the rutile obtained by liquid hydrolysis at atmospheric pressure). The study revealed the stabilizing effect of cerium cations on the pore structure of nitile, which changes upon thermal treatment.