A convenient sol–gel route for the synthesis of salicylate–titania nanocomposites having visible absorption and blue luminescence

Syntheses of titania-based nanomaterials by simple sol–gel route using a mixture of CTAB and salicylate as well as salicylate ions as templates have been reported. The materials are characterized by the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and spectroscopic (FT IR, UV–VIS) analyses. A disordered mesoscale orientation of nanoparticles (ca. 2–4 nm) composed of TiO2-salicylate surface complex has been obtained when 1:1 mixing ratio of CTAB and salicylate at the CTAB concentration of 0.001 M was employed as a template. All these nanocomposites exhibit a considerable red shift at the onsets of their absorption band compared to pure (organic-free) nanocrystalline TiO2 and show blue luminescence at room temperature. This assembly of nanoparticles is highly interesting in the context of visible light sensitization and nanodevice fabrication.