Role of interfacial elasticity of microemulsions on the morphology of TiO2 nanostructures: stiff templates versus flexible templates

Abstract

The effects of temperature and interfacial elasticity on nanostructured titanium dioxide (TiO2) microemulsions templated materials have been investigated. The aim was to establish a simple and rapid selection of the best experimental conditions for achieving some required material property. TiO2 materials have been prepared through reactive microemulsion precipitation. The effect of microemulsion process parameters (temperature and oil phase density) on the final material characteristics has been investigated. The titania nanopowders were characterized by Xray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and N2 adsorption– desorption isotherms. The results obtained by different process conditions show that the nonpolar phase density and temperature of microemulsions have a great influence on the final characteristics of the obtained material. A reduction of the microemulsion oil density causes a significant decrease in the particle agglomeration and an augment of the material-specific surface area and pore volume. At the same time, rutile is favored over anatase phase. The increase of template microemulsion temperature produces, in some systems, a morphology change from granular to a bicontinuous structure.