Anatase Titania Based Nanomaterials for Environmental Remediation

Abstract

TiO2 is one of the most interesting oxides industrially because it has number of unique properties like high mechanical strength, strong absorption and photoluminescence in the UV-vis range, high refractive index, good transmission in visible and infrared regions, strong adhesion, high thermal stability, high dielectric constant and wide band gap energy. Besides to the above mentioned properties there are substantial examples where titania best towed with such unique properties have widely applied as oxygen sensors, solar cells, high temperature ceramics, glass polishing materials, sunscreen materials, UV-shielding materials, hydrogen generation. The most important application of it is currently being used as photocatalysts to remove the organic pollutants, like dyes and other toxic compounds to clean the environment. The present work is undertaken on multigram synthesis of anatase TiO2 and TiO2-based oxides with using cheaper metal inorganic precursor with simple approaches. All the prepared oxide calcined at 500°C so that the particles show good crystallinity with higher surface area. XRD results showed all the 500°C calcined samples have the important anatase phase. All the nanopowder exhibited strong absorption in the UV region and good transmittance in the visible region. The modified TiO2 and TiO2–based nanoparticles showed red shifts in absorption spectra and lower band gap energy. TiO2 based nanoparticles shows effective photodegradation of model organic pollutants under natural sunlight irradiation. Some of the modified TiO2 materials showed selective and effective adsorption of methylene blue dye from aqueous solutions at room temperature without any adjustment of pH. The formation of stable anatase phase with high crystallinity, high surface area, low band gap energy and lower recombination of the charge carriers’ contributed towards an improved activity of TiO2-based materials, which appears to be potential candidates for environmental and biomedical applications.