X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies of phase transformations and amorphicity in nanotitania powder and silica–titania core–shell photocatalysts

The local environment of titanium in nanocrystalline sol-gel synthesized titania, cobaltiferous titania and silica–titania core–shell photocatalysts was investigated using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Anatase reconstructively transforms to rutile via a persistent amorphous phase that is retained, in part, up to 1273 K. In nanotitania, temperature-dependent trends in Ti order correlation observed by XAS parallel the development of amorphous content extracted from powder X-ray diffraction patterns, such that amorphicity shows a transient maximum at ∼873 K with the onset of rutile crystallization. Cobaltiferous and core–shell materials behaved similarly, but with anatase retained to 973 and 1273 K, respectively. In the former, cobalt redox reactions may stabilize anatase to higher temperatures by ready charge-balancing during the loss of hydroxyl and the formation of oxygen vacancies. In the core–shell architecture, higher Ti coordination and interatomic distance variance in the first- and second-nearest-neighbour shells are maintained to 1273 K by interaction of a substantially aperiodic TiO₆ network with the glassy silica substrate, which inhibits crystallization of rutile from the amorphous intermediate. Comparisons are also drawn with the commercial P25 catalyst. The overall transformation mechanism can be summarized as gel → non-stoichiometric anatase → amorphous titania → rutile. Smaller anatase crystals and a higher average Ti—Ti coordination environment in the core–shell structure may enhance photocatalytic activity directly, by creating larger specific surface areas and hosting reactive defects, or indirectly, by inhibiting exciton annihilation in aperiodic titania and delaying the crystallization of less photoactive rutile.