In this study, aggregation of TiO₂ (rutile and anatase) submicron particles in deionized (DI) water under ultra-violet (UV) light irradiation was investigated. While no aggregation was observed in the dark, rutile and anatase submicron particles started aggregating upon application of UV light and ceased aggregation in about 2 and 8.4 h, respectively. It has been demonstrated that UV light directly mitigated the particle mobility of TiO₂, resulting in a neutralization effect of the Zeta potential. It was also observed that rutile particles aggregated much faster than anatase particles under UV radiation, indicating that the Zeta potential of as-prepared rutile is less than that of anatase in deionized (DI) water. In addition, the interaction energy of rutile and anatase particles was simulated using the Derjaguin⁻Landau⁻Verwey⁻Overbeek (DLVO) model. The results showed a significant reduction of barrier energy from 118.2 kBT to 33.6 kBT for rutile and from 333.5 kBT to 46.1 kBT for anatase, respectively, which further validated the remarkable influence of UV irradiation on the aggregation kinetics of rutile and anatase submicron particles. This work presents a further understanding of the aggregation mechanism of light-controlled submicron particles and has a promising potential application in environmental remediation.
Keywords: Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO); Zeta potential; anatase; electrokinetics; mobility; rutile.