US EPA

1564263 

Journal Article 

Low temperature synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles 

Rashidzadeh, M; Faridnia, B; Ghasemi, MR 

2012 

1 

Pigment & Resin Technology
ISSN: 0369-9420 

41 

5 

270-275 

10.1108/03699421211264820 

WOS:000310496300002 

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study the effect
of synthesis conditions on properties of TiO2 nanoparticles to be used for photocatalysis and
also producing TiO2 using a low temperature method. Design/methodology/approach - TiO2
nanoparticles were synthesised via a sol-gel method at low temperature and the effect of
parameters such as: synthesis temperature, HNO3 concentration, calcination temperature and
synthesis time on properties of TiO2 were studied. The effects of the physico-chemical properties
of TiO2, its concentration and light intensity on photocatalytic properties of TiO2 nanoparticles
were investigated also. Findings - The results showed that TiO2 with Anatase phase were formed at
80-100 degrees C by using proper HNO3 concentration, synthesis time and calcinations temperature.
Calcinations programme and temperature and also the synthesis time affect the formation of TiO2
crystalline phase (i.e. Rutile and Brookite), their surface area and crystallite size. To
evaluate the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 nanoparticles, fluorescein was used as a model
molecule. Results showed that degradation of fluorescein could be described by pseudo-first order
kinetics. The effect of TiO2 concentration and light intensity on photocatalytic activity showed
that increasing concentration of TiO2 and the light intensity would increase the degradation of
fluorescein. Originality/value - The method used in this work to prepare TiO2 nanoparticles is an
economic method for low temperature synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles with high photocatalytic
activity, which could find numerous applications in coating technology. 

Titanium; Pigments; Physical properties of materials; TiO2 nanoparticles; Photocatalysis; Low temperature synthesis; Anatase; Rutile; Brookite