Microstructure effect of nanocrystalline titanium dioxide prepared by microemulsion technique on photocatalytic decomposition of phenol

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) was synthesized in the water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion system of n-heptane/water/sodium bis (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) surfactant. This study reports the effect of microstructure of the synthesized TiO₂ nanoparticles on the photocatalysis degradation of phenol in an aqueous solution, as compared to commercial TiO₂ (P25) and TiO₂ synthesized by bulk precipitation. The results indicated that the rate of phenol decomposition catalyzed by the synthesized TiO₂ from microemulsion techniques is faster than those of TiO₂ synthesized by bulk precipitation and commercial P25. This is due to the small crystal size of TiO₂ prepared by the microemulsion technique. The exposed titanium sites on the surface controlled by the morphology of synthesized TiO₂ are critical for photocatalytic activity.