Synthesis of titania and titanate nanomaterials and their application in environmental analytical chemistry

Talanta. 2007 Jul 31;72(5):1687-92. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2007.03.039. Epub 2007 Mar 25.

Abstract

TiO(2) nanoparticles and H(2)Ti(2)O(5).H(2)O, Na(2)Ti(2)O(4)(OH)(2) nanotubes were synthesized by solvothermal method and their applications in the degradation of active Brilliant-blue (KN-R) solution were investigated. The experimental results revealed that the synthesized TiO(2) nanoparticles had a good crystallinity and a narrow size distribution (about 4-5 nm); the obtained H(2)Ti(2)O(5).H(2)O, Na(2)Ti(2)O(4)(OH)(2) were tubelike products with an average diameter of approximately 20-30 and approximately 200-300 nm length. The three catalysts we synthesized had some hydroxyl groups and the maximum absorption boundaries of the samples were all red-shifted, which indicated the samples had a promising prospect in photocatalysis. The results of the photocatalytic experiments indicated that the photocatalytic activity of the samples was: TiO(2)>H(2)Ti(2)O(5).H(2)O>Na(2)Ti(2)O(4)(OH)(2), which was in good accordance with the fact of FTIR and UV-vis absorption spectra. The formation mechanism of these nanostructures was also discussed.