Synthesis of highly active sulfate-promoted rutile titania nanoparticles with a response to visible light.

Highly active sulfate-promoted rutile titania (SO(4)(2-)/TiO(2)) with smaller band gap was prepared by an in situ sulfation method, that is, under moderate conditions, sulfate-promoted rutile titania was directly obtained via precipitating Ti(SO(4))(2) in NaOH solution followed by peptizing in HNO(3) without the phase transformation from anatase to rutile. Thus, the negative impacts of phase transformation from anatase to rutile on the structure, surface, and photoactivity properties of the catalysts due to higher calcination temperature can be avoided. The catalysts were characterized by means of thermal analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-visible spectroscopy, FT-IR pyridine adsorption, and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD).

New route to synthesize highly active nanocrystalline sulfated titania-silica: synergic effects between sulfate species and silica in enhancing the photocatalysis efficiency.

A simple and efficient approach has been set up for fabricating highly active sulfated titania-silica (SO(4)(2-)/TiO(2)-SiO(2)): Ti(SO(4))(2) was hydrolyzed in the presence of silica, making it possible to sulfate titania and form titania-silica mixed oxide in one step. This study was focused on investigating the roles of sulfate species and silica in improving the physicochemical properties and photoactivity of SO(4)(2-)/TiO(2)-SiO(2) through comparison with sulfated titania (SO(4)(2-)/TiO(2)) and sulfate-free catalysts (TiO(2) and TiO(2)-SiO(2)). Various characterization methods, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS), were employed to test these materials.