Surface sulfation chemistry, structural and chemical activities of high pure anatase TiO2 nanocrystals

Abstract

Sulfated anatase TiO2 nanocrystals were prepared by hydrothermal method. All samples were characterized by means of powder XRD and FT-IR. It is shown that all the as-prepared samples displayed the features of pure anatase phase. The surface hydration and sulfation of TiO2 became significantly enhanced as decreasing the particle size. The sulfated TiO2 nanocrystals showed photoactivities towards photodegradation of RhB under UV light irradiation, during which the sulfate species anchored on surfaces of anatase nanocrystals were not released into the reaction solutions.