Annealing of bimetal doped and pure nanotitania: A comparative analysis

Bimetals (Na, Mg, Li, Cr) doped nanotitania was prepared using a modified hydrothermal method from a titanium mineral. The samples, along with a commercial sample, were then annealed from 873 K to 1273 K, at 100 K intervals. Both samples were characterized using a variety of methods such as the XRD (crystallite size and phase conversion temperature), SEM (morphology) and BET (surface area). It was discovered that the bimetal doped samples results in significantly larger surface areas (an average increase of about 32%), higher in phase conversion temperature (12.5% increase), although it tends to form in agglomerates when compared to commercial samples. It is concluded that a bimetal doping of nanotitania will simultaneously improve its physical, chemical and photocatalytic properties.