Characterization of TiO2 nanopowders synthesized by thermal plasma

Nano-sized TiO2 powders were synthesized from TiCl4 and SiCl4 using thermal plasma. The effect of dopant SiCl4 on the characteristics of TiO2 powder was investigated. The result was that anatase phase increased with the feed rate Of SiCl4. Also, phase composition of the powder was influenced by collection position and these powder morphology and phase compositions were analyzed by XRD, SEM, TEM/EDS, FT-IR. At the reaction tube, the powder was mainly obtained as rutile, while at the collection vessel it was mainly obtained as anatase. The synthesized powders were estimated for the photocatalytic activity by photochemical reaction of acetaldehyde under UV-irradiation. The photodestruction rates of acetaldehyde increased with the content of anatase in the powders. The dopant SiCl4 increased the content of anatase but Si species in the powder led to decrease the photodesrtruction rates of acetaldehyde.