SYNTHESIS OF TiO₂ NANOSTRUCTURES VIA HYDROTHERMAL METHOD

Abstract

Titania (TiO2) nanostructures were produced via hydrothermal method using amorphous TiO2 powders synthesized by the sol-gel precipitation process. The hydrothermal system was isolated from the environment and hydrothermal reactions were allowed to execute at 130 degrees C for 36 h at autogeneous pressure, and at a stirring rate of 250 rpm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that TiO2 nanofibers formed instead of nanotubes upon utilization of amorphous TiO2 precursor. After hydrothermal synthesis, the powders were acid treated by HCl several times. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis identified that the synthesized powders were Na-titanate and remained Na-titanate even after subjecting to acidic treatments several times. The photocatalytic performance of the powders was evaluated by degradation of methylene blue (MB) solution in UV illumination. Results were compared with nanotubes which were synthesized previously using P25 commercial titania powder and have shown that TiO2 in tubular structure offers better photocatalytic performance for the degradation of MB solution under UV illumination as compared to fiber-like structure.