Sol–gel functionalization of sodium TiO2 nanotubes and nanoribbons with aminosilane molecules

The functionalization of sodium TiO2 nanotubes and nanoribbons with 3-(aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) was performed by a sol–gel process using two different methods, namely with and without prehydrolization of APTES. Nanoparticles were functionalized with different amounts of APTES (30, 60 and 100 wt% per nanoparticles) and under different times of functionalization (2, 4 and 24 h). The nature and binding of the APTES molecules on sodium TiO2 nanoparticles were determined by simultaneous differential scanning calorimetry-thermogravimetric analysis (DSC-TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with electron dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). DSC-TGA results showed that the amount of APTES molecules on nanoparticles increased with higher APTES ratios. The existence and binding of the APTES molecules with nanoparticles was confirmed by FTIR and SEM–EDS.