Dicarboxylic Acids as Soft Templates for the Sol‐Gel Synthesis of Mesoporous Nano TiO₂ with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

In this study we have synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles by sol‐gel method utilizing different dicarboxylic acid modifiers viz. oxalic acid, malonic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid and tartaric acid and compared their properties. The synthesized particles were characterized by Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV‐DRS), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX) and Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller (BET) surface area measurement. The results indicate that the phase purity of the particles depend on the nature of precursor dicarboxylic acid. The synthesized samples were compared with Degussa P25 for photocatalytic activity by direct sunlight degradation of methylene blue. Samples prepared from malonic and glutaric acid precursors were found to show better photocatalytic activity than the P25 and were found to have maximum mesoporosity, smaller size and exclusive anatase phase.

Microwave assisted solvothermal synthesis of quasi cubic F doped TiO2 nanostructures and its performance as dye sensitized solar cell photoanode

“…From the HRTEM images (Figure 5C) the distance of separation (d) between two successive lattice fringes was calculated and the value was found to be 0.356 nm and it is associated with the TiO 2 anatase phase (101) plane. 39 The SAED pattern (Figure 5D) indicates that the samples are of polycrystalline nature and the d-spacing values calculated match well with the planes of anatase phase TiO 2 .…”

“…The HRTEM images of the prepared TiO 2 nanoparticles (Figure 5A,B) shows that the prepared materials are made of particles which are randomly oriented, and its size is found to be nearly 20 nm. From the HRTEM images (Figure 5C) the distance of separation ( d ) between two successive lattice fringes was calculated and the value was found to be 0.356 nm and it is associated with the TiO 2 anatase phase (101) plane 39 . The SAED pattern (Figure 5D) indicates that the samples are of polycrystalline nature and the d‐spacing values calculated match well with the planes of anatase phase TiO 2 .…”

UV‐aided graphene oxide reduction by TiO2 towards TiO2/reduced graphene oxide composites for dye‐sensitized solar cells

“…From the high magnification TEM images, the distance of separation (d) between two successive lattice fringes was calculated and the value was obtained to be 0.352 nm and it corresponds to the TiO 2 anatase phase [(101) plane]. [33][34][35] The polycrystalline nature of the prepared samples was inferred from the SAED pattern and the d-spacing value was found to match well with the value of anatase phase TiO 2 .…”

A Study on the Catalytic Activity and Service Lifetime of RuO2‐TiO2 Composite Electrode with TNTs as Interlayer

“…And many researches also modified the DSA electrode with an interlayer, which were commonly ZnO, SiO 2 and MnO 2 , etc. Apart from these, there were also many improvements in the coating technology, i. e. optical coating technology, spin‐coating technology, Sol‐Gel coating technology …”