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A simple way to synthesize anatase with high thermal stability

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Abstract

A simple and cost-effective method was proposed to synthesize nano-crystallized pure anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysts with a high thermal stability. The initial TiCl4 was reacted with a NaOH aqueous solution to form an amorphous sodium titanate, which was then transformed into an amorphous titanium dioxide hydrate through the replacement of Na+ by H+ using a HCl aqueous solution. After annealing, the pure nano-crystallized anatase TiO2 particles possessed a high thermal stability up to 900 °C. The high concentration of NaOH aqueous solution played an important role in preventing the precipitation of rutile TiO2 during hydrolysis process and promoting the formation of the nano-crystallized anatase TiO2. Samples calcined at 800 °C exhibited a significantly higher repeatable photocatalytic activity compared to the standard commercial photocatalyst P25 for the degradation of Rhodamine B in an aqueous suspension. This could be attributed to the synergistic effect of high crystallinity and mesoporous structure. The method is very simple, template-free, and cost effective, which makes it potential for the large-scale production.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51072191, 11179037), National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2012CB922004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chinese Academy of Science Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, People’s Republic of China

    PengChao Wen, Chao Cai, Hao Zhong, LuYuan Hao & Xin Xu

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Correspondence to Xin Xu.

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Wen, P., Cai, C., Zhong, H. et al. A simple way to synthesize anatase with high thermal stability. J Mater Sci 50, 5944–5951 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9117-7

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