Open AccessMicrowave plasma assisted sol-gel technique for synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Muhammad Ayyaz,
Muhammad Yasin Naz,
Aurbab Shoukat,
M Marriam,
Maria Akram,
Zahid Hussain,
Shazia Shukrullah,
Irfan Toqeer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iop conference series. materials science and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1757-899X
pISSN - 1757-8981
DOI - 10.1088/1757-899x/863/1/012035
Subject(s) - materials science , anatase , photocatalysis , nanoparticle , crystallite , titanium dioxide , chemical engineering , scanning electron microscope , band gap , rutile , oxidizing agent , nanomaterials , particle size , visible spectrum , grain size , nanotechnology , analytical chemistry (journal) , composite material , optoelectronics , chemistry , metallurgy , chromatography , catalysis , organic chemistry , engineering , biochemistry
Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles have attracted the attention of research community due to their novel functionalities as compared to the bulk material. TiO 2 is an excellent photocatalyst due to its high photosensitivity, nontoxicity, high refractive index, strong oxidizing ability, high stability, wide band gap and high resistance to photochemical. The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of microwave (MW) plasma treatment on TiO 2 nanoparticles synthesized using sol-gel method. TiO 2 nanoparticles were obtained through sol-gel method at ambient temperature. The suspension was heated at 300 °C for 2 hours to evaporate the organic content. The obtained nanoparticles were placed in partially vacuumized chamber for MW plasma treatment. The plasma treatment is a promising technique for oxidation of nanomaterials. Both plasma treated and untreated samples were evaluated with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-Visible spectroscopy for crystallite size, crystal phases, band gap energy and surface morphology. The obtained results confirmed the existence of anatase and rutile phases of TiO 2 with smaller particle size within the range of 0.2 to 14 nm. The particles were of aggregated and trigonal shapes. The MW Plasma treatment improved the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 nanoparticles by raising their band gap energy and reducing the grain size.