XRD and EDXRF Analysis of Anatase Nano-TiO₂ Synthesized from Mineral Precursors

Abstract

Abstract. This work details the characterization of anatase nano-TiO 2 particles synthesized from Malaysian mineral precursors using the XRD and EDXRF. The properties that were analyzed were its crystallite sizes, relative crystallinity, phases, and chemical composition. It was determined that the crystallite size was quite small (15.6 nm), although the crystallinity of the sample is relatively low. The anatase phase seems to be dominant (100%), although in some cases when the processing parameters were changed or heat treatment were conducted, the existence of rutile is detected. The chemical composition showed that TiO 2 is the majority compound in the sample (~96%), although some metallic and non-metallic impurities are present (Zr, Nb, and S). It is concluded that Malaysian mineral precursors are capable of producing relatively high quality nano-TiO 2 .Introduction Titania (TiO 2 ) is a compound that is both familiar and abundant, having seen many applications in diverse areas such as pigmentations, cosmetics, coatings and water purification. This attribute is mainly due to the flexibility of titania as a compound, where it comprise of many unique phases and crystal systems that is responsible for its behavior in certain conditions.Titania comprises of eleven phases (some only exist in high pressure states), and four crystal systems (orthorhombic, monoclinic, tetragonal and cubic). Some common phases of titania are anatase (tetragonal), brookite (orthorhombic) and rutile (tetragonal). These phases occur naturally in minerals and are regularly extracted and separated from its ores. Sources of titania includes, but is not limited to, ilmenite (FeTiO 3 ), leucoxene ores, or rutile beach sand. Titania, as seen in its commercial form, is manufactured or processed from these sources using a myriad of methods, which includes the more common methods such as sol-gel method (widely used commercially), the hydrothermal and solvothermal methods, to the specialized and seldom used electrodeposition and the sonochemical method. The uniqueness of titania's attribute depends partly on its fabrication route, where we can see titania produced in different forms and shapes such as tubes (solvothermal) or rods (hydrothermal), segregated spheres (sol-gel), and smooth coatings (electrodeposition) when different fabrication methods are used.

The Sonophotocatalytic Degradation of Pharmaceuticals in Water by MnOx-TiO2 Systems with Tuned Band-Gaps

“…The replacement by metal ions with a valence lower than 4+ and ionic radius higher than 0.68 Å induces oxygen vacancies at the boundaries of anatase grains, which favors bond rupture and solid-state ionic rearrangement [42,44,46,47]. The formation of crystalline phases and their transformation from anatase to rutile depends on the starting material, deposition method, and calcination temperature [45,48,49]. Surprisingly, all of the samples synthesized with ultrasound also contain brookite in percentages around 30%.…”

Fabrication of a double‐helical photocatalytic module for disinfection and antibiotics degradation

“…As displayed in Figure , the XRD patterns of the two kinds of TiO 2 did not show obvious difference. The strong characteristic peaks at 2 θ = 38.57° belonged to the (004) crystal face of anatase TiO 2 (Mahdi, Hamdi, Meor Yusoff, & Wilfred, ). Besides that, two weak peaks at 2 θ = 25.28° and 36.08° were assigned to the (101) crystal face of anatase TiO 2 and the (101) crystal face of rutile TiO 2 , respectively (Rezaee, Khoie, & Liu, ).…”

Synthesis and characterization of TiO2 thin films for DSSC prototype

“…It can be calculated that the average crystalline size of T1 and T5 samples are 25 nm and 19 nm respectively by using the Scherrer formula. In the XRD pattern of sample T10, additional peaks are observed at 2θ = 27.45°, 36.03° and 41.30°.These additional peaks are assigned to the (110), (101), (111) lattice planes, which are attributed to the signals of the rutile phase [47,48]. The average crystalline size of T10 sample nanoparticles is 17 nm.…”

“…The XRD patterns for the pure TiO 2 nanoparticles synthesized using PVP as surfactant in different amount (1 gm, 5 gm, and 10 gm) are shown in Fig.2 [47,48]. It can be calculated that the average crystalline size of T1 and T5 samples are 25 nm and 19 nm respectively by using the Scherrer formula.…”