Synthesis and structural characterization of sol–gel derived titania/poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) nanocomposites

Non hydrolytic sol–gel method was employed to synthesize pure anatase TiO₂ nanocrystals using tetra isopropyl orthotitanate and poly vinylpyrrolidone as precursors. The structural analyses of the prepared samples were carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermo gravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG–DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The capping of PVP around TiO₂ nanoparticles was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy, the interaction being via bridging oxygens of the carbonyl (C=O) and the nanoparticle surface. The XRD, Raman and TEM results indicate that the prepared samples had a pure anatase nano-TiO₂ structure. The particle size analysed by TEM ranged between 7 and 12 nm. The size of the nanocrystals evaluated from the XRD spectra and TEM micrograph is well in agreement. The spacing for the crystal planes was also determined using the ImageJ program applied to the TEM micrographs.