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Synthesizing and Comparing the Photocatalytic Properties of High Surface Area Rutile and Anatase Titania Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Sun Jing,
Gao Lian,
Zhang Qinghong
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1151-2916.2003.tb03539.x
Subject(s) - rutile , anatase , photocatalysis , materials science , titanium tetrachloride , nanocrystalline material , raman spectroscopy , brookite , chemical engineering , amorphous solid , calcination , thermogravimetric analysis , specific surface area , titanium , inorganic chemistry , aqueous solution , high resolution transmission electron microscopy , transmission electron microscopy , nanotechnology , chemistry , catalysis , metallurgy , organic chemistry , physics , optics , engineering
Rutile titania nanocrystalline particles with high specific surface areas were directly prepared by thermal hydrolysis of titanium tetrachloride aqueous solution. The as‐prepared rutile titania powder was characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis, and Fourier transform Raman and IR spectroscopies. Neither anatase nor amorphous titania could be detected in this titania powder by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and high‐resolution TEM. In the phenol degradation reaction, the rutile titania powder with an initial crystalline size of 7 nm was found to have higher photocatalytic activity than that of anatase titania with the same specific surface area. The rutile titania powders calcined at 300° and 450°C also showed a relatively high photocatalytic property. The high activity of the as‐prepared rutile titania was attributed to the abundance of hydroxy groups in the powder, as was proven by thermogravimetric analysis data, which provided more active sites for the degradation reaction.