Thermal desorption in nanocrystalline TiO2

Nanocrystalline TiO2 powder with a grain size of 9.8 nm was prepared by the hydrothermal precipitation method. Thermal desorption in the powder and compacted TiO2 samples has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. An endothermic peak was observed on these samples and the peak cart be attributed to thermal desorption. The desorption enthalpy per gram of adsorbates In the compacted sample is larger than that in the powder one and it continues to increase with the compacting pressure. A tentative model has been proposed to explain the increase in desorption enthalpy due to compaction. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.