The effect of aging and precursor concentration on room-temperature synthesis of nanocrystalline anatase TiO2

A sol-gel method to synthesize nanocrystalline anatase in aqueous medium at room temperature is presented. Unlike other sol-gel synthesis routes reported, no inorganic acids or heat treatment were used in this method. Comprehensive characterization of TiO2 nanoparticles including crystal structures and morphology was performed. The effect of precursor concentration and aging time on crystallinity and crystallite size was studied. It has been found that while crystallization occurred at room temperature, the longer the aging time, the greater the crystallinity. Precursor concentration has a slight effect on the crystallite size and affects the aging time and the viscosity of the sol.