A convenient sol–gel route for the synthesis of salicylate–titania nanocomposites having visible absorption and blue luminescence

Syntheses of titania-based nanomaterials by simple sol–gel route using a mixture of CTAB and salicylate as well as salicylate ions as templates have been reported. The materials are characterized by the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and spectroscopic (FT IR, UV–VIS) analyses. A disordered mesoscale orientation of nanoparticles (ca. 2–4 nm) composed of TiO2-salicylate surface complex has been obtained when 1:1 mixing ratio of CTAB and salicylate at the CTAB concentration of 0.001 M was employed as a template. All these nanocomposites exhibit a considerable red shift at the onsets of their absorption band compared to pure (organic-free) nanocrystalline TiO2 and show blue luminescence at room temperature. This assembly of nanoparticles is highly interesting in the context of visible light sensitization and nanodevice fabrication.

Graphical abstractA new titania–salicylate nanostructure material has been synthesized, which exhibit a considerable red shift towards the visible region vis-à-vis nanocrystalline (organic-free) TiO2 and blue luminescence at room temperature.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide