Synthesis Properties and Applications of Pristine and Doped Nanotitania

Abstract

In the world of nanomaterials, metal oxides play a very important role due to their unique physico-chemical properties. The wide range of applications in different fields makes titanium dioxide (TiO2) or titania as the centre of attraction in a group of semiconducting metal oxide nanoparticles. But, the higher rate of recombination of charge carriers and poor absorption in the visible region limit the action of TiO2 as an ideal photocatalyst. Hence, proper control of the structural parameters such as particle size, crystalline quality, morphology and other properties are of crucial importance during the catalyst synthesis. This can be overcome by adopting a suitable synthesis method. Besides, the heat treatment or calcination is important in the synthesis of nanotitania which affect its size, morphology, crystallinity, phase transition and so on. Literature reports suggested that there is less data available on doped nanotitania and its composites. Hence, we have pursued a more detailed investigation on the structural, surface, optical and electrical properties of pristine and rare earth doped titania nanostructures and its composites with cobalt and iron phthalocyanine. More attention has been paid towards the application of nanotitania as a dye degradation agent, anti-microbial agent and as an efficient gas sensor. newline