Pyrolysis study of sol-gel derived TiO2 powders - Part II. TiO2-anatase prepared by reacting titanium(IV) isopropoxide with oxalic acid

Homogeneous TiO2 powders were obtained, via sol-gel method, hydrolysing titanium(IV) isopropoxide, previously reacted with oxalic acid in order to better control the gelling process. The characterization of the amorphous TiO2 powders was carried out by using different techniques such as FT-IR, XRD and N-2 adsorption analysis. Coupled thermogravimetric (TG) gas chromatographic (GC) and mass spectrometric (MS) analyses were performed to quantify the organic content present in the titania gel and its release during pyrolysis. A detailed semiquantitative analysis of the evolved chemical species from TG-MS data allowed to describe the chemical composition of the TiO2 gel and the chemical rearrangements occurring in matrix during pyrolysis up to its crystallization to anatase form at 530degreesC.