Synthesis of nanoparticulate anatase sol from tetrabutoxytitanium

Abstract

Titanium oxyhydrate nanoparticles have been prepared via tetrabutoxytitanium hydrolysis. The addition of a stabilizing component (acetylacetone) to tetrabutoxytitanium prior to hydrolysis in a mixture of water and ethanol made it possible to sharply reduce the hydrolysis rate. Boiling at 100°C converted amorphous titanium oxyhydrate sol into nanocrystalline anatase with a crystallite size of 3.5 nm. According to scanning electron microscopy data, the TiO₂ particles were spherical in shape and ranged in size from 90 to 290 nm. The material was characterized by X-ray diffraction, simultaneous thermal analysis, electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering.