Microstructural characterization of the V-doped nano-titania

A new modified sol–gel method has been developed to synthesize undoped nano-titania and vanadium-doped nano-titania. XRD data and the Raman spectra indicate that even after 10 mol% doping of vanadium in the crystal lattice sites of TiO2, the samples are phase pure with the anatase structure. The average particle size of these materials is about 11.5 nm, as calculated from the XRD peak broadening and TEM. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was also used for the determination of the particle size of these vanadium-doped titania samples. The SAXS parameters were determined assuming near spherical particle shape. The SAXS results were in agreement with the particle size as obtained by TEM. A negligible variation in the particle size was observed as a function of doping percentage upto a limiting value of 5 mol% doping of vanadium in the TiO2 lattice. The results of the SAXS are in good agreement with the XRD and the TEM results.