Alkaline-treated titanium dioxide: Modification of its textural and morphological properties

Modification of titanium dioxide by incorporating certain species in its structure, immobilizing it onto a support or reducing its crystallite size generally improves its photocatalytic ability. Evonik P-25, which is a mixture of anatase–rutile crystalline structures, is the commercial TiO2 powder with high photocatalytic activity and it is the one most widely used as standard photocatalyst [1]. Some studies have suggested that addition of polyoxometallates to the synthesis gel might lead to the formation of a surface complex between the POM and TiO2 [2, 3], in this work, the impregnation of Evonik P-25 nanoparticles and alkaline-treated P-25 nanotube with tungstophosphoric acid (TPA) is reported. The prepared materials are characterized with standard structural and chemical analysis systems such as XRD, FTIR, SEM, PZC etc. Their photocatalytic activity will be evaluated by studying the degradation of methylene blue (MB) solutions.