Synthesis and characterization of titania nanoparticles by microemulsion process

Abstract

Titania nanoparticles have been prepared by microemulsion process with titanium chloride and aqueous ammonia in Triton X-100/<i>n</i> -butyl alcohol/cyclohexane. The hydrated TiO₂ precursor of titania nanoparticles, has been obtained via fusion and redispersion processes. Particle size of the hydrated TiO₂ increases with increase in reaction time as well as surfactant-to-water molar ratio. Hydrated TiO₂ has been calcined at 650°C and 1000°C and

characterised by UV-VI S, TGA, DTA, XRD and TEM analyses.TGA and DTA show that amorphism is first transformed into anatase phase at 550°C and the anatase phase is converted into the rutile phase at 900°C. XRD and TEM results demonstrate that the anatase and rutile TiO₂ nanoparticles possess better dispersity, with particle size 20~35nm and40-60nm respectively.