Investigation of the Effect of Different Synthesis Methods on the Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2: Comparison of Rutile and Anatase TiO2

Abstract

In this study, the effect of the synthesis method (solid state, sol-gel and hydrothermal) on the photocatalytic activity of the anatase and rutile phases of TiO2 was evaluated. As a result of XRD, FESEM and BET analysis of pure phase TiO2 powders in anatase and rutile phases, the changes in particle structures, surface areas and morphologies were examined and the differences in both synthesis method and phase structures were evaluated with Photodegradation experiments. The results of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the TiO2 compound synthesized in the anatase phase and by the synthesized hydrothermal method exhibited a much smaller crystal size than the other synthesis methods and the rutile phase. Surface morphology examinations of the samples were made with scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), particle sizes were determined in the range of 90-200 nm, and their surface areas were examined by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis.The adsorption-desorption isotherms shown also support the XRD data of the highest surface area.The photocatalytic behavior of the compounds was investigated using methylene blue degradation.As a result of all the syntheses and characterization studies, it has been shown that TiO2 obtained by hydrothermal method exhibits the best photocatalytic activity.