Fabrication of titania thin film with composite nanostructure and its ability to photodegrade rhodamine B in water

Abstract

A titania nanorod film was synthesized by direct oxidation of metallic Ti with hydrogen peroxide solution under a low temperature. Titania nanoparticles were then filled into the gaps among the nanorods through an infiltration sol-gel procedure to form a composite titania film with an ordered nanostructure. X-ray diffraction spectra indicate that the composite film was a mixture of anatase and rutile while the titania film obtained by only using a sol-gel procedure was pure anatase. Field emission scanning electron microscopy observations show that titania nanoparticles were embedded into the titania nanorod film. Photoluminescence spectra suggest the enhanced separation of electron and hole pairs for the obtained composite titania film over the corresponding titania nanorod film. The composite titania film exhibited improved ability to photodegrade rhodamine B in water compared with the titania nanorod film. The apparent photodegradation rate constant, fitting a pseudo-first-order, was 3 times of that obtained by the sol-gel derived titania film at the same weight. The improved photocatalytic activity for the composite titania film could be attributed to the enhanced separation of electron and hole pairs due to the embedding of the titania nanoparticles within the titania nanorods.

Keywords

titania, composite catalyst film, sol-gel, nanorod, photoluminescence spectra