Preparation and Characterization of TiO۲ Nanoparticles Prepared by Sol-Gel Method

In this study, TiO۲ nanoparticles have been synthesized by sol-gel method. Then, the effects of the different pHs, stirring times, surfactants (CTAB and Span ۲۰) and temperatures on TiO۲ nanoparticles were studied. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses were used to characterize the samples. The observations revealed that, the pH of ۳.۵ and ۳۶ h stirring time could provide dispersion without agglomeration in nanoparticle powder with rutile and anatase phases. However, at higher pH, the powder resulted in the formation of anatase phase. Implementing CTAB as a surfactant modified the shape, size, and distribution of TiO۲ nanoparticles better than the Span ۲۰ as a surfactant. Finally, the nanopowder was calcined at ۴۵۰, ۵۵۰ and ۶۵۰ °C. It obviously showed thatby increasing the temperature, the size of nanoparticles increased which might be due to accelerate the crystal growth of titanium dioxide at high calcination temperature.

Keywords:

CTAB , TiO۲ nanoparticles , Sol-gel method , TEM