Preparation of rutile (TiO2) nanostructured materials at low temperature from TiCl4 aqueous solution

The synthesis of rutile (TiO2) nanostructured materials at low temperature from TiCl4 aqueous solution was described. TiO2 coatings on polystyrene (PS) particles were prepared by layer-by-layer assembly technique. The samples were characterized by DTA-TG, SEM, XPS, TEM and XRD techniques. The experimental results showed that pure rutile-TiO2 coatings with nanocrystal structure were synthesized at 100 degrees C. On the surface of PS particles, sphere-type TiO2 coatings exhibited uniform shape and a narrow size distribution. The amount of TO2 (wt%) and shell thickness of particles increased with the adding of coating layers. Hollow TiO2 spheres were obtained by calcination at 450 degrees C. TiO2/PS with 2 coating layers showed higher degradation rate. The photocatalytic activity of hollow TiO2 spheres was higher than that of TiO2/PS.