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The Assembly of TiO 2 Nanoparticles into Micrometer‐Sized Structures, Photocatalytically Active Under UV and Vis Light
Author(s) -
Žunič Vojka,
Škapin Srečo D.,
Suvorov Danilo
Publication year - 2015
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/jace.13718
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , micrometer , nanoparticle , materials science , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , anatase , triethanolamine , rutile , chemical engineering , scanning electron microscope , sol gel , methylene blue , nuclear chemistry , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , catalysis , analytical chemistry (journal) , composite material , physics , engineering , optics
Micrometer‐sized structures consisting of TiO 2 nanoparticles were prepared using the sol–gel technique in combination with the structure‐directing agent triethanolamine ( TEA ). The interaction of the TEA with the hydrolyzed sol–gel products led to the formation of TEA titanate complexes, which then enabled the assembly of sol–gel‐precipitated nanosized powders. A subsequent thermal treatment of these powders resulted in the formation of micrometer‐sized structures consisting of TiO 2 anatase and rutile nanoparticles. To characterize the prepared powders, FTIR spectroscopy, XRD analysis, the Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller method ( s BET ), UV –Vis spectrometry and electron microscopy ( FE ‐ SEM , and TEM ) were employed. The photocatalytic degradation of the azo dye known as methylene blue was monitored under UV and Vis irradiation and showed that the micrometer‐sized structures consisting of TiO 2 nanoparticles exhibited a similar photocatalytic activity to submicrometer‐sized structures consisting of TiO 2 nanoparticles prepared without TEA .