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Abstract

Nanostructures of TiO2 were synthesized by a facile sol-gel method using pentanol as solvent. The effects of thermal annealing on the structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of as-synthesized TiO2 nanostructures have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. XRD and Raman spectroscopy results revealed that the synthesized TiO2 nanostructures exist in anatase phase for annealing at temperatures up to 300 o C, while annealing at 600 o C led to the formation of TiO2 nanostructures in anatase/rutile mixed-phase. AFM studies revealed the presence of TiO2 nanorods, which showed a small decrease in aspect ratio upon annealing. The photocatalytic activity of nanostructured TiO2 samples was evaluated through sun light driven degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye in water. TiO2 nanorods in anatase/rutile mixed-phase in the sample annealed at 600 o C were found to exhibit the highest photocatalytic activity towards degradation of MB dye. The mechanism underlying the enhanced photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanostructures in anatase/rutile mixed-phase is tentatively proposed.

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