Abstract
Solvothermal crystallization is an adequate approach for preparing differently shaped TiO2 crystalline materials because it is highly sensitive to the synthesis parameters change. This study presents two sample series, one prepared from tetraisopropyl orthotitanate TTIP and one from tetrabutyl orthotitanate TBU. The influence of the applied temperature, different capping agents' amount, and the precursor volume ratio affected the measured characteristics (crystal phase composition, primary crystallity size, morphology, surface chemistry and optical properties). Although the samples revealed strong differences in crystal phase and size distribution, mostly spherical hierarchical morphology was achieved. The as-prepared samples were applied in photocatalytic processes to assess their efficiency under UV light and examine the influence of the structural features on the photocatalytic process. Not only the chosen precursor but the subtle changes in the listed parameters resulted in catalytical performance differences. Besides the crystal phase composition and the Ti3+ and Ti4+ species, it was found that organic surface particularities influenced the semiconductors’ photocatalytic performance.
Highlights
Hierarchical TiO2 nanomaterials have shown many potential appli cations in photocatalysis including photocatalytic water splitting, solar energy conversion, sensors, electrochromic, photochromic, optical, optoelectronic- and electrochemical devices [1,2]
For the samples containing a mixture of anatase and rutile phases, their weight ratio was calculated by the method developed by Banfield et al [26], while the samples which were built from three crystal phases, the calculations were carried out based on reference [27]
Samples obtained from TTIP The above-mentioned three parameters, i.e. are further investi gated in-detail to reveal the formation mechanism of the differentlyshaped hierarchical TiO2 nanostructures
Summary
Hierarchical TiO2 nanomaterials have shown many potential appli cations in photocatalysis including photocatalytic water splitting, solar energy conversion, sensors, electrochromic-, photochromic-, optical-, optoelectronic- and electrochemical devices [1,2] The development of this type of semiconductor is necessary because its structure, quality, and morphology define the nanomaterials’ applicability resulting in higher efficiency of the desired application [3,4]. Using solvothermal crystallization is a good approach to control the morphology of the nanoparticles since the synthesis conditions are adjustable Parameters such as the concentration of titania precursor, amount and structure of surfactants, the temperature/duration of the hydrothermal crystallization are among the most important factors which control the shape of semiconductor nanoparticles [7]. The resultant features such as size, geo metry/morphology and crystal phase of the materials, largely affect the photocatalytic performance and other applications of the semiconductor [8]
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