Low temperature preparation and optical properties of K2Ti6O13

Abstract A simple and cost-effective route was developed for the low temperature (700 °C) synthesis of K 2 Ti 6 O 13 powder, using low-melting-point KNO 3 and high-reactive-activity P25 TiO 2 nanocrystals as the reactants. The characterization results from X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed the successful preparation of monoclinic phase K 2 Ti 6 O 13 crystallites with a rodlike morphology. UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectrum disclosed that the as-synthesized K 2 Ti 6 O 13 had a direct optical band gap of about 3.47 eV. Besides, the as-synthesized K 2 Ti 6 O 13 displayed strong and wide visible light emission in the wavelength range of about 400–700 nm upon laser excitation at 325 nm at room temperature, enabling its use as a promising blue light-emitting material.