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.