Influence of process parameters on the synthesis of nano-titania by sol-gel route

Nano-rutile-titania has been synthesized via a sol-gel route using titanium tetra n-butoxide as the precursor and ethyl alcohol as the solvent at a low temperature of 80 degrees C. When synthesized with HCl as the catalyst, the powders crystallized without calcination, while the materials prepared using acetylacetone as the catalyst required heating to similar to 300 degrees C to initiate the crystallization. The anatase to rutile transformation temperature decreased with increasing water content. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.