Nano-twinned structure and photocatalytic properties under visible light for undoped nano-titania synthesised by hydrothermal reaction in water–ethanol mixture

Nano-TiO2 crystals showing visible light driven photocatalytic activity were synthesized by hydrothermal reaction in an ethanol–water mixture. The experiments were conducted to optimise the synthesis conditions for nano titania, in the range of temperature from 200 to 400 °C. X-ray diffraction depicted that the products obtained were anatase at 250 °C and above. For the products obtained at 250 °C, detailed analysis was conducted since it depicted high crystallinity with smallest particle sizes. Shape of the crystal was rounded rectangular with the size of 4 ± 1 nm to 7 ± 1 nm. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed the existence of novel nano-twin structure in anatase grains and surface defects around the nanocrystals. Photocatalytic property was investigated for these undoped titania samples under UV and visible light. The nano twin structure, surface defects, and nano-meter size of the synthesized titania are believed to play a crucial role for the high catalytic activity.