Nano-TiO2
powders were successfully prepared by laser pyrolysis of
TiCl4
(vapours). Alternatively, air and nitrous oxide were used as oxygen precursors.
C2H4
was used as an energy transfer agent. The underlying phenomena for this photon-based
molecular nanotechnology are discussed. For the present report, different titania
nanosized powder batches were obtained by variation of the oxidizer nature and
TiCl4
precursor flows. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss
spectroscopy, x-ray dispersive energy analysis, and IR and Raman spectrometry have been
used to analyse the nanostructures and morphologies of the as-synthesized powders. Medium
and high resolution TEM analyses indicate mean grain sizes between 12 and 28 nm. The
different characterization techniques suggest that in the obtained anatase and rutile
mixture the fraction of rutile phase depends on the nature of the oxygen precursor. At low
TiCl4
flows, no chlorine contamination was detected in the reaction product.
Further examination of the influence of other important system parameters
will open new possibilities for titania preparation by the laser pyrolysis of
TiCl4.
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