Synthesis, structural and optical properties of well dispersed anatase TiO2 nanoparticles by non-hydrothermal method

The formation of nanocrystalline TiO2 particles has been investigated via a surfactant-free synthetic non-hydrothermal method. Titanium isopropoxide and toluene were used as the starting materials. At a low temperature of 250 degrees C for 6 h, the reaction mixture turned in to a white precipitate (TiO2) as a result of the thermal decomposition of metal alkoxide. The obtained product was found to crystallize purely in the anatase phase with well defined morphology. The powder XRD study confirms that the average size of the particle is close to similar to 15 nm. The TEM analysis indicates the sizes of the primary and secondary particles in the range between 8-10 nm and 15-20 nm respectively. The quantum size confinement of the crystallites is evident from the blue shift of the absorption edge in the UV-Visible absorption spectrum. The luminescence property of the TiO2 nanoparticles studied by the emission spectrum confirms the presence of defect levels caused by the oxygen vacancies. (C) 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim