Organic surface modification and analysis of titania nanoparticles for self‐assembly in multiple layers

Evaluation of the impact of alkyl silane entity (APTES) on photocatalyst (TiO2) and their photocatalytic degradation of organic compounds for environmental remediation

Environmental pollution by diverse organic pollutants is a serious issue facing humanity, and the scientific community is working hard to find a solution to climatic change due to pollution. Along the same lines, we have tried to find a material/method which is economical and less laborious for achieving the same desired objectives. In this work, the surface modification of titanium dioxide to be used as a photocatalyst was carried out with different concentrations of alkyl silane agent APTES (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane) and studied their impact on the degradation of representative compound, i.e., methylene blue. The surface-modified TiO₂-APTES nanoparticles were obtained via the solvothermal process. The APTES in different molar (0.21-0.41 M) concentrations was obtained by dissolving APTES in ethanol. The obtained samples were characterized through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy, and UV-visible spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity was inferred from the degradation ability of functionalized nanoparticles for methylene blue and evaluated by UV-visible spectroscopy. Our results demonstrated a significant 70% degradation rate of methylene blue.

Solvothermal synthesis of soluble, surface modified anatase and transition metal doped anatase hybrid nanocrystals

Titanium dioxide, or titania, is perhaps the most well-known and widely studied photocatalytic material, with myriad applications, due to a high degree of tunability achievable through the incorporation of dopants and control of phase composition and particle size. Many of the applications of titanium dioxide require particular forms, such as gels, coatings, or thin films, making the development of hybrid solution processable nanoparticles increasingly attractive. Here we report a simple solvothermal route to highly dispersible anatase phase titanium dioxide hybrid nanoparticles from amorphous titania. Solvothermal treatment of the amorphous titania in trifluoroacetic acid leads to the formation of anatase phase nanoparticles with a high degree of size control and near complete surface functionalisation. This renders the particles highly dispersible in simple organic solvents such as acetone. Dopant ions may be readily incorporated into the amorphous precursor by co-precipitation, with no adverse effect on subsequent crystallisation and surface modification.