Synthesis of titania and titanate nanomaterials and their application in environmental analytical chemistry

TiO2 nanoparticles and H2Ti2O5-H2O, Na2Ti2O4(OH)(2) nanotubes were synthesized by solvothennal method and their applications in the degradation of active Brilliant-blue (KN-R) solution were investigated. The experimental results revealed that the synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles had a good crystallinity and a narrow size distribution (about 4-5 nm); the obtained H2Ti2O5 center dot H2O, Na2Ti2O4(OH)(2) were tubelike products with an average diameter of similar to 20-30 and similar to 200-300 nm length. The three catalysts we synthesized had some hydroxyl groups and the maximum absorption boundaries of the samples were all red-shifted, which indicated the samples had a promising prospect in photocatalysis. The results of the photocatalytic experiments indicated that the photocatalytic activity of the samples was: TiO2 > H2Ti2O5 center dot H2O > Na2Ti2O4(OH)(2), which was in good accordance with the fact of FTIR and UV-vis absorption spectra. The formation mechanism of these nanostructures was also discussed. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.