Sol-gel Preparation of Different Crystalline Phases of TiO₂ Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue in Aqueous Solution

Siti Lailatul N. Zulmajdi¹, Nur Izzah I. Zamri¹, Abdul Hanif Mahadi², Mohd Yameany H. Rosli³, Fairuzeta Ja’afar¹, Hartini M. Yasin¹, Eny Kusrini⁴, Jonathan Hobley^{1, 5} and Anwar Usman^1,

¹Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410, Brunei Darussalam

²Centre for Advanced Material and Energy Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410, Negara Brunei Darussalam

³Physical & Geological Science Department, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410, Negara Brunei Darussalam

⁴Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia, Kampus Baru UI, Depok 16424, Indonesia

⁵Current Address; OndaLabs, Mabalacat, Clark Freeport, Angeles, Pampanga, Philippines

Cite this paper:
Siti Lailatul N. Zulmajdi, Nur Izzah I. Zamri, Abdul Hanif Mahadi, Mohd Yameany H. Rosli, Fairuzeta Ja’afar, Hartini M. Yasin, Eny Kusrini, Jonathan Hobley and Anwar Usman. Sol-gel Preparation of Different Crystalline Phases of TiO₂ Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue in Aqueous Solution. American Journal of Nanomaterials. 2019; 7(1):39-45. doi: 10.12691/ajn-7-1-5

Abstract

This paper describes the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution in the presence of TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) in different compositions of anatase and rutile phases under UV light irradiation. The different compositions of crystalline phases of TiO₂ NPs were synthesized using sol-gel method at the same temperature for various calcination times. The TiO₂ NPs were subjected to crystal phase, vibrational, size, and morphological characterizations. The photocatalytic degradation of MB revealed that anatase TiO₂ NPs have a superior catalytic activity in the front of rutile phase. This finding further suggested that low charge resistance and low electron-hole recombination probability lead to the acceleration of the OH• formation on the surface of anatase TiO₂ NPs.

Keywords:
photocatalysis; titania; sol-gel; calcination time; methylene blue

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