Anatase TiO₂ Nanoparticles: Facile Synthesis via Non-aqueous Precipitation and Photocatalytic Property

A facile strategy for anatase titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticle preparation was proposed via a non-aqueous precipitation method. With the aid of glacial acetic acid, tetrabutyl titanate underwent non-hydrolytic reaction in solvent ethanol. Glacial acetic acid increased polarity of TiO and CO bonds of tetrabutyl titanate, and promoted non-hydrolytic de-etherization poly condensation reaction to form TiOTi bond in the solvent. After refluxing at 80 for 24 h, the TiOTi bond was rearranged to form anatase TiO 2 nanoparticles with the particle size of 5 nm-20 nm and specific surface area of 169.4 m 2 /g, which exhibited good dispersion and excellent photocatalytic activity. The degradation rate against methyl orange under ultraviolet radiation for 2 h reached 99.81%, showing promising prospect in wastewater treatment process.