Preparation, characterization and photoactivity of TiO2 obtained by a reverse microemulsion route

TiO2 was synthesized by a reverse microemulsion route. By using different water contents in the reverse microemulsion, we obtained three different materials named R = 10, R = 20 and R = 30. The reverse microemulsion synthesis has the advantage that the kind of the crystalline titania structure obtained may be changed by simply modifying the water content in the microemulsion.The synthesized materials were characterized by nitrogen adsorption, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Methylene blue (MB) was used as testing dye; we studied the pH effect and catalyst dosage in the MB photodegradation. The degradation kinetics was also studied.

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► Three titania materials were synthesized by a reverse microemulsion route.
► The crystalline structure was changed by modifying the water content in the microemulsion.
► We studied the remotion of a model dye through degradation with UV irradiation.
► We also analyzed the pH effect and TiO2 dosage from the titania photocatalytic performance.
► TiO2 (R = 10) can be used in future applications to eliminate dyes in textile industries.