Quantitative structural characterization of catalytically active TiO2 nanoparticles

This work uses multiple characterization techniques to show conclusively that the pyrogenic TiO2 photocatalysts, P90 and P25, are made of discrete rutile and anatase nanoparticles and are not composed of a core of anatase with a rutile shell as some studies have posited. Atomic pair distribution (PDF) analysis of P90 demonstrates that the technique is capable of detecting and quantifying minority phases and particle morphology in heterogeneous titania mixtures, with important implications for further studies of shape-controlled nanoparticles with well-defined surface facets.