Abstract
ABSTRACTThe objective of this study is to investigate the role of Na+ content in the morphology evolution of TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by hydrothermal approach. Various TiO2 morphology from 0-dimensional (0D) nanoparticles to 1-dimensional (1D) nanorods were synthesised by hydrothermally treating the alkali titanate nanotubes with different Na+ content. The XRD patterns show the phase transformation and crystallographic nature of alkali titanate nanotubes are strongly dependent on the Na+ content, the cation exchange of Na+ by H+ ion exchange affects the crystallinity of the tubes and causes disorder of the interlayers of nanotubes. The SEM and TEM images confirm that Na+ rich titanate nanotubes were thermally stable. Moreover, BET measurements revealed that the Na+ content plays an important role on the specific surface area of formed TiO2 nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 nanoparticles was characterised via the decomposition rate of an aqueous solution of methyl orange (MO) under UV light irradiation. The TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by hydrothermally treating the alkali titanate nanotubes with no Na+ content has a surface area of 55.1 m2/g with nearly 100% photodecomposition of MO in 20 min.
Highlights
Synthesising TiO2 nanomaterials with controlled structures has attracted considerable interests due to the beneficial properties of the architectures [1,2]
BET measurements revealed that the Na+ content plays an important role on the specific surface area of formed TiO2 nanoparticles
The TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by hydrothermally treating the alkali titanate nanotubes with no Na+ content has a surface area of 55.1 m2/g with nearly 100% photodecomposition of methyl orange (MO) in 20 min
Summary
Synthesising TiO2 nanomaterials with controlled structures has attracted considerable interests due to the beneficial properties of the architectures [1,2]. Methods for preparing TiO2 nanostructures include electro-chemical synthesis, chemical synthesis and alkaline hydrothermal method. In 1998, Kasuga et al [8] first reported the synthesis of titanate nanotubes by reacting TiO2 nanoparticles and concentrated NaOH solution followed by acid washing. The titanate nanotubes have been found to possess different crystal structures and components, In this work, the neutralisation process was evaluated in order to clarify the role of cation exchange reaction in the formation of TiO2 nanostructures by hydrothermal synthesis from commercial P25 powder. The morphology and structural modification of TiO2 products which were obtained by the second hydrothermal treatment after washing and acid treatments were followed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and BET analysis
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