ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Pigmentary properties of rutile TiO₂ modified with cerium, phosphorus, potassium, and aluminium

Marta Gleń and Barbara Grzmil

Institute of Chemical and Environment Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, ul. Pułaskiego 10, 70-322, Szczecin, Poland

E-mail: mglen@zut.edu.pl

Abstract: The influence of different modifiers, phosphorus, potassium, aluminium, and cerium on the pigmentary properties of TiO₂ was studied. The phase composition and distribution of modifiers in prepared TiO₂ products was investigated using XRD analysis, the selective leaching method, and ICP-AES technique. The optical properties, photoactivity, morphology, and surface area of modified TiO₂ were determined by spectrophotometric, fluorescent, SEM, and BET measurements. The research was directed towards obtaining a pigmentary TiO₂ with the highest possible photostability. It was found that the final calcination temperature, at which the anatase-rutile transformation rate was > 97 %, depended on the kind and amount of the modifiers introduced into hydrated titanium dioxide. In comparing the colour of TiO₂ products modified with Ce, it was found that the addition of K to the TiO₂ series caused an increase in all the optical properties examined. The presence of K and Al in TiO₂ modified with Ce resulted in decreased photocatalytic activity. The photostability of TiO₂ modified with Ce and K improved with an increase in P₂O₅ content. The highest photostability was measured for the TiO₂-CePKAl series. It was concluded that the differences in both the optical properties and photoactivity of TiO₂ depended on its phase composition and the distribution of modifiers in the products obtained.

Keywords: titanium dioxide – modification – photostability – optical properties – pigmentary properties

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-013-0396-7

Chemical Papers 67 (11) 1386–1395 (2013)