A novel synthesis route of titanium dioxide with (NH4)0.3TiO1.1F2.1 as by-product

This work explores a new route for the synthesis of titanium dioxide using scraps and titanium chips, which are typically discarded as waste, as the precursor materials. The band-gap energy of the synthesised materials was determined using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The morphology, elemental analysis, crystallinity, and chemical structure of the synthesised materials were determined by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, and infrared and Raman spectroscopies, respectively. The X-ray and Raman analyses confirmed the formation of titanium dioxide in its tetragonal (anatase) crystalline form after heat treatment (400 °C, 2 h). Moreover, a mixture of (NH4)0,3TiO1,1F2,1 and anatase TiO2 was obtained as a by-product. After heat treatment, this by-product was converted into fluorine-doped titanium dioxide, also in anatase crystalline form. The apparent crystallite size (Lc) of anhydrous titanium dioxide was found to be smaller than that of the calcined by-product. The diffuse reflectance spectroscopy analysis revealed that the calcined by-product has a significantly higher absorption capacity at higher wavelengths, as well as a lower band-gap energy value. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analyses showed large particulates on which smaller particles are deposited and good dispersion of the elemental components. The anhydrous titanium dioxide sample presents a smaller particle size than the calcined by-product.