Hydrothermal synthesis of highly water-dispersible anatase nanocrystals from transparent aqueous sols of titanate colloids

Transparent colloidal aqueous solutions of anatase nanocrystals were hydrothermally synthesized from aqueous transparent sols with tetramethylammonium titanate colloids, the surfaces of which were modified with citric acid, by structural conversion of the titanate to anatase. This modification hindered coalescence of the titanate colloids during the hydrothermal synthesis. Although the amount of citric acid adsorbed on the colloids was reduced during hydrothermal treatment, a small amount of citric acid was adsorbed on the resulting anatase nanocrystals. Moreover, the use of the titanate colloids as a precursor was compared with the use of a citrato Ti complex, tetramethylammonium citratotitanate. The hydrothermal treatment of the transparent aqueous solutions of the Ti complex yielded opaque solutions with large anatase colloids, suggesting that the titanate colloids were useful for preparing transparent anatase colloidal solutions. Because the shape and size of resulting colloids may be dependent on the size and shape of starting colloids, the use of titanate colloids as a precursor may make it easy to control size and shape of anatase colloids.