Preparation of nanosized titania by hydrolysis of alkoxide titanium in micelles

Abstract Nanosized titania particles, with typical particle sizes in the range of 30–50 nm have been synthesized using a microemulsion-mediated process. In this process, the aqueous cores of microemulsions have been used as constrained microreactors for the precipitation of titania precursor. The microemulsion was provided by a functionalized surfactant derived from the commercially available mixtures of sorbitol monooleate and polysorbate 80 (abbreviated as Span-Tween 80). The hydroxide particles, produced by the hydrolysis of the titanium tetraisopropoxide in the water droplets containing surfactant, were separated, dried, and calcined to form nanoparticles of TiO 2 . The dependence of the size of the precipitated TiO 2 particles on various structure parameters of the microemulsion was studied in detail.