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2025 Vol.35, Issue 8 Preview Page

Research Paper

Facile Synthesis of Anatase TiO2 Sol via a Low-Temperature and Ambient-Pressure Sol-Gel Process with Enhanced Photocatalytic Properties

저온 상압 졸-겔 합성 기반 Anatase TiO2 졸 제조 및 광촉매 특성 평가

Hyewon Mun1
,
Dongkyu Roh1†
문 혜원1
,
노 동규1†
1New Growth Materials Research Division, Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology (KICET), Jinju 52851, Republic of Korea
1한국세라믹기술원
†Corresponding author E-Mail : rohdk@kicet.re.kr (D. Roh, KICET)
27 August 2025. pp. 376-383
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Abstract

In this study, anatase TiO2 nano sol (TNS, TiO2 Nano-Sol) was synthesized via a simple sol-gel method under low-temperature and ambient pressure conditions using TiOCl2 as a precursor. The structural and photocatalytic properties of the TNS were systematically investigated as a function of reaction time. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of the anatase crystal structure as the reaction time increased, while field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses verified the uniform formation of fine anatase nanoparticles, averaging less than 10 nm in size. The synthesized TNS sol enabled the fabrication of transparent TiO2 coatings that retained over 76 % transmittance in the visible light range, as verified by UV-Vis spectroscopy. Photocatalytic activity was evaluated through methylene blue (MB) degradation experiments, which showed that degradation efficiency was enhanced with longer reaction times. Notably, the TNS-48 exhibited superior photocatalytic degradation performance, being approximately three times higher than that of TNS-1 and about twice that of the commercial P25. This study demonstrates that the TNS sol synthesized through a simple sol-gel process can achieve high transparency and excellent photocatalytic properties without requiring high-temperature and high-pressure synthesis. It is expected to be applicable in various photocatalytic fields, such as functional coatings and electrode materials.

Keywords
anatase titanium dioxide
photocatalytic activity
sol-gel method
low-temperature and pressure synthesis
transparent coating
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Information
  • Publisher :Materials Research Society of Korea
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국재료학회
  • Journal Title :Korean Journal of Materials Research
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국재료학회지
  • Volume : 35
  • No :8
  • Pages :376-383
  • Received Date : 2025-06-29
  • Revised Date : 2025-07-28
  • Accepted Date : 2025-07-31
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.3740/MRSK.2025.35.8.376
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