STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF VANADIUM DOPED TiO2 POWDERS PREPARED BY SOL-GEL METHOD

The structure and properties of V doped TiO2 nanometric powders, synthesized using sol-gel method were studied. The precursors employed were Ti(OC2H5)(4) as TiO2 source and VO(Acac)(2) as V2O5 source. The molar ratios of TiO2:V2O5 were 98:2 and 99.95:0.05, respectively. The obtained gels were thermally treated for 1 h at 300 degrees C with a heating rate of 1 degrees C/min in order to eliminate the water and organic residues and to obtain crystallized nanometric powders. The characterization of the powders was realized by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (FT-JR), specific surface area and porosity measurements. The obtained powders were also tested as catalyst for water splitting and oxidation of methanol. The correlation between composition, structure and catalytic properties of the samples was established.