A comparative study of the photo-catalytic performance of amorphous and nano-crystalline TiO₂

Titanium dioxide powders with photocatalytic properties were obtained by a simple hydrolysis method, using an inorganic precursor. The effect of the annealing temperature on the formation and subsequent photocatalytic activity has been studied. The powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman and UV-Vis spectrometry in order to emphasise the structural and optical properties. The photo-catalytic performance of the powders by degradation of Methylene Blue under low intensity UVA and visible radiation were also quantified. The amorphous powder exhibits higher photo-catalytic activity than the equivalent anatase phase. The degradation efficiency of the dye in presence of the amorphous catalyst was 43%.