Effects of material properties on sedimentation and aggregation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles of anatase and rutile in the aqueous phase

Abstract

This study investigated the sedimentation and aggregation kinetics of titanium dioxide (TiO 2) nanoparticles with varying material properties (i.e., crystallinity, morphology, and chemical composition). Used in the study were various types of commercially available TiO 2 nanoparticles: three spherical anatase (nominal diameters of 5, 10, and 50 nm) and two rutile nanoparticles (10 × 40 and 30 × 40 nm). The 50 nm anatase and 10 × 40 nm rutile showed higher stability in deionized water and 5 mM NaCl solutions at pH 7 than the 5, and 10 nm anatase nanoparticles in sedimentation experiments. In aggregation experiments, critical coagulation concentration values for the 50 nm anatase were the highest, followed by the 10 × 40 nm rutile and the 5 nm anatase nanoparticles in NaCl and CaCl 2 solutions. The aggregation kinetics was fitted reasonably well with the Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) equations for the TiO 2 nanoparticles tested. Results showed that crystallinity and morphology are not influential factors in determining the stability of TiO 2 nanoparticle suspensions; however, the differences in their chemical compositions, notably, the varying concentrations of impurities (i.e., silicon and phosphorus) in the pristine materials, determined the surface charge and therefore the sedimentation and aggregation of TiO 2 nanoparticles in the aqueous phase.