Synthesis and characterization of zirconium-doped mesoporous nano-crystalline TiO2

A series of zirconium-doped nano-titania (Zr/TiO2) with various amounts of Zr were prepared by sol-gel method using titanium(IV) isopropoxide and zirconium nitrate as precursors. Zr/TiO2 samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area-pore volume measurements, infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-vis-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis-DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. XRD data and Raman spectra indicated that even after 5 mol% doping of zirconium in the crystal lattice of TiO2, the samples were phase pure with the anatase structure. The crystalline size of the anatase decreased with increasing Zr content. An increase in the BET surface area was also observed after doping of zirconium on nano-titania.