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Dielectric Constant Controlled Solvothermal Synthesis of a TiO 2 Photocatalyst with Tunable Crystallinity: A Strategy for Solvent Selection
Author(s) -
Wu Jianjun,
Lü Xujie,
Zhang Linlin,
Huang Fuqiang,
Xu Fangfang
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
european journal of inorganic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1099-0682
pISSN - 1434-1948
DOI - 10.1002/ejic.200900199
Subject(s) - crystallinity , anatase , dielectric , photocatalysis , crystallization , chemistry , chemical engineering , nucleation , solvent , crystallite , nanocrystal , crystal (programming language) , lattice constant , methanol , nanotechnology , materials science , crystallography , organic chemistry , catalysis , optics , programming language , optoelectronics , computer science , engineering , physics , diffraction
Phase‐pure anatase TiO 2 nanocrystals with a tunable crystallinity have been prepared by a one‐step solvothermal method in the absence of any templates or additives. The crystallinity can be successfully controlled by varying the dielectric constant of the reaction solvent. 2‐Propanol, which has the lowest dielectric constant of those studied, favors the crystallization of TiO 2 nanocrystals with the best crystallinity, in other words nano‐TiO 2 crystals with the largest crystallite size (14.8 nm), lowest lattice strain (7.27 × 10 –3 ), and highest photocatalytic efficiency (almost six times that obtained in methanol). The effect of the dielectric constant on the solubility of the precursor and subsequent nucleation and crystal growth is discussed in detail. These discussions shed some light on solvent selection for the designed synthesis of nano‐TiO 2 with different crystallinity. The photocatalytic activity of the as‐prepared samples has also been investigated with respect to their crystallinity.(© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)