Characterization of nanostructured pristine and Fe- and V-doped titania synthesized by atomization and bubbling

Pristine titania and vanadium- or iron-doped titania particles were synthesized in a tubular furnace reactor. Each sample was synthesized by different injection methods either by the atomizer or bubbler. Titania, which was made by the bubbling method, showed agglomerates with around 10 nm primary particles. Atomization, on the other hand, resulted in the mixture of 100 nm particles and 10 nm particles. Iron dopants introduced by the atomizer showed hematite crystals along with anatase while vanadium did not show any vanadium related crystals. Atomized vanadium formed stable particles and the collision with titania resulted in V-doped titania. Substituted vanadium promoted sintering of titania even at a low concentration. Bubbled vanadium condensed on the surface of titania particles because of its low melting point and small size, and hence it did not affect the morphology of titania significantly.