Inorganic gels as precursors of TiO2 photocatalysts prepared by low temperature microwave or thermal treatment

A simple procedure for preparing active TiO2 photocatalysts is presented. The starting materials were unusual TiO2 gels formed from TiCl4. The use of microwaves for a very short time enhanced the TiO2 crystallinity preventing an increase of particle size and minimizing the decrease of specific surface area. This result makes this preparation very attractive. The formation of the gels was monitored through measurements of viscosity. All the samples were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and BET specific surface area measurements. The photoactivity of the samples was evaluated using the photodegradation of 4-nitrophenol in liquid–solid regimen and gaseous 2-propanol as probe reactions. Commercial TiO2 Degussa P25 was used for the sake of comparison.