Sol-Gel Synthesis of Nonstoichiometric Titanium Dioxide for Photo-Oxidation of Toxic Organic Substances

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) was synthesized by sol-gel method at different values of pH = 3, 7, 8, 9, or 10. X-ray phase analysis has shown that in an acid rout, an anatase phase had crystallized, and in an alkaline rout an amorphous phase of TiO2 was achieved. After annealing for 4 hours at 350∘C, all samples were transformed into anatase phase. The particle size in the different samples varies from 7 to 50 nm depending on the pH. The diffuse reflectance spectra revealed a high value of the band gap width in the range from 2.9 to 3.4 eV and its narrowing after annealing to the range from 2.8to 3.1 eV. The specific surface area measured by BET method was changing from 80 up to 140 m2 /g. Keywords: Titanium dioxide, nanostructure, photocatalysis, band gap, specific surface area