Sonochemical preparation of TiO2 nanoparticles

TiO2 nanoparticles with mean diameter of about 20 nm, average crystallite size of 15 nm and BET specific surface area of 78.88 m(2)/g, were prepared through a simple sonochemical method and initial treatment in 10 M NaOH aqueous solution. XRD results exhibited that the obtained nanoparticles composed of pure rutile phase. During the initial treatment with NaOH aqueous solution, the Ti-O-Ti bonds in the TiO6 octahedra structure of the raw material were broken, and new octahedras formed after ultrasonic irradiation. It is supposed that edge sharing was favored during ultrasonic treatment, leading to formation of the rutile nanoparticles. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.