Synthesis of nanosized titanium dioxide from tetrabutoxytitanium

Abstract

Mesoporous TiO2 has been obtained by template synthesis. The introduction of a surfactant in the hydrolysis of tetrabutoxytitanium in aqueous ethanol allows the structure of the resulting material to be controlled. The amorphous TiO2 resulting from hydrolysis turns into anatase on being calcined at 300°C. As determined by X-ray diffraction, the anatase crystallite size is 70 nm in the presence of the highest surfactant concentration examined and 210 nm in the absence of a surfactant. Amorphous materials have been characterized by electron microscopy and differential thermal analysis. The ultimate benzene adsorption value has been determined for calcined mesoporous TiO2. © 2010 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.