Photocatalytic degradation of diazinon using titanium oxide synthesized by alkaline solvent

Abstract

Photoactivity of titanium dioxide (TiO2) can be improved by transformation to nanoparticles. Synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles can be accomplished by a hydrothermal method and the product of this method is affected by types of the precursor, reactant type, and concentration, also hydrothermal conditions, i.e. time and temperature. Titanium dioxide crystal nanoparticles can be applied to catalyze the degradation of insecticide, including diazinon. The objective of the present study was to determine the hydrothermal condition that produces high-quality TiO2 crystals nanoparticles. In the present study, titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) was used as initial precursors while distilled water, double distilled water (DDW), ethanol, t-butanol, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) was used as reactants. The diffractogram of the TiO2 nanoparticles showed anatase and rutile crystal structures. Based on calculations using the Scherrer equation, the TiO2 crystals size were less than 50 nm for both anatase and rutile. The percentage of rutile and anatase composition was determined using Rietveld method assisted by rietica software. Morphology examination of TiO2 crystals showed cubic and flower-shaped particles for anatase and rutile crystals, respectively. The best degradation performance of diazinon through photoactivity was given by TiO2 synthesized using KOH as a reactant.