Towards ultrafine TiO2 nanocrystal at room temperature

Ultrafine titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanocrystal has attracted enormous interest due to their unusual quantum and surface effects. Here, we propose a facile route to synthesize ultrafine anatase nanocrystal at room temperature via an aqueous sol–gel method using lactic acid (LA) and acetylacetone (Acac) as double chelators. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and size analyzer confirmed that TiO2 nanocrystal in precursor possessed an average size of ~3 nm with a narrow size distribution. Crystal structure characterized by TEM and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that TiO2 nanocrystal to be anatase phase. The results of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and BET surface area exhibited that TiO2 xerogel powder had mono-dispersed particles size and large BET surface area up to 90 m2/g.