Characterization of chemically synthesized TiO2-CNT nano-composite powder

In this research, nano-composite powder of TiO2 and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was synthesized by chemical method. TiO2 was synthesized through the sol-gel method. The CNT content changed from 1 to 10 wt.% with respect to the expected mass of TiO2. The samples were characterized via field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The effects of CNT composition and initial precursor’s ratio on the morphology of produced samples were investigated. In the first step, fine particles of amorphous TiO2 was formed. However, XRD results showed the presence of only crystalline titanium dioxide anatase phase and CNTs after heat treatment. From the FESEM results, the synthesized sample showed a homogenous morphology with individual CNTs covered with TiO2 and also aggregates between CNTs and TiO2. The result showed that the diameter of coated CNTs by TiO2 can reach to about 200 nm. The composite powder containing different amounts of CNTs showed different morphological properties

Keywords:

TiO2 , Carbon nanotubes , Chemical method , Nano-composite