An investigation on optimization of instantaneous synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles and it’s thermal stability analysis in PP-TiO2 nanocomposite

• Published in: Solid state sciences 2021-10, Vol.120, p.106707, Article 106707
• Main Authors: Prakash, Mayank, Ghosh, Anup K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Crystallinity; Instantaneous synthesis; Particle size distribution; PP-TiO2 nanocomposite; Thermal stability; TiO2
• ISSN: 1293-2558; 1873-3085
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2021.106707

In this paper, titanium dioxide (TiO2) was prepared through the instantaneous synthesis method. The reaction was limited to 3–5 s at 25 °C, which is significantly less as compared to conventional techniques used, which take about 30–45 min and often occurs at higher temperatures. This process was repeated with varying reaction parameters to study their effect on particle size distribution and crystallinity of the synthesized nanoparticles. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDAX) analysis, and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis for functional group analysis and to determine the shape, composition, and crystal structure of the synthesized particles. It was also characterized using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) analysis to study the effects on the particle size of synthesized nanoparticles. It was found that this method leads to the formation of anatase titanium oxide nanoparticles with particle sizes ranging from 10 to 20 nm. A composite of nanoparticles with polypropylene (PP) was also formed to study the effect of synthesized nanoparticles on the thermal stability of polymer, which was studied using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The synthesized nanoparticles showed an increase in thermal stability as the onset degradation temperature increased from 374.84 °C for the neat polymer to 383.11 °C for prepared polymer composite with the mere addition of 0.75 wt % of TiO2. [Display omitted] •Instantaneous synthesis of titanium dioxide nanoparticles.•Optimization of instantaneous synthesis technique.•Thermal stability-crystallinity correlation.•Increased thermal stability of PP-TiO2 nanocomposite.