Novel route to synthesize nanocrystalline nickel titanate in the presence of amino acids as a capping agent

Abstract

Nanocrystalline nickel titanate (NiTiO3) was prepared by novel route using nickel salt and tetra-n-butyl titanate were used as precursor materials. Besides, three capping agents such as aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and histidine were used to investigate their effects on the morphology and particle size of nickel titanate nanoparticles. The formation of pure crystallized NiTiO3 nanocrystals occurred when the precursor was heat-treated at 700 °C in air for 150 min. According to the vibrating sample magnetometer, nickel titanate nanoparticles indicated a paramagnetic behavior at room temperature. Furthermore, the photocatalysis results reveal that the maximum decolorization of 94 % for methyl orange occurred with NiTiO3 nanoparticles in 60 min under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. The structural, morphological, and optical properties of as-obtained products were characterized by techniques such as XRD, SEM, EDX, and UV–Vis spectroscopy.