Plasma dynamic synthesis of highly defective fine titanium dioxide with tunable phase composition

Abstract

Titanium dioxide is currently one of the most known promising photocatalysts. However, its use in the visible light range is limited due to its high energy gap. In this work, to solve the mentioned problem, it is proposed to obtain highly defect structures of titanium dioxide by means of a high-energy plasma dynamic synthesis method. It possible to synthesize TiO2 Titanium dioxide powders with a tunable ratio of rutile and anatase modifications, as well as a particle size distribution were synthesized, by optimizing the synthesis conditions, including the process energy and parameters of the gaseous medium. The formation of shock-wave structures in the pulsed synthesis process results in obtaining fine particles of rutile and anatase with a highly defective crystal structure. The final product was revealed to have an extended working absorption spectrum region and a reduced band gap (2.74 eV). A possibility of photocatalytic applications for the synthesized TiO2 powder was demonstrated in measurements of photocurrent density with time (j-t) under intermittent visible light irradiation.