Paper SS-TuP2
Spectroscopically Monitoring the Surface and Crystallinity of Titania Nanopowders Treated with Hydrogen Peroxide: an Endeavor in Simplifying the Atomic Picture of Complex Substrates

Tuesday, November 8, 2016, 6:30 pm, Room Hall D

Metal oxide substrates are often riddled with defect sites, imperfections in metal-oxide atomic arrangements. One such defect is an oxygen vacancy at the surface. Commonly, the substrate is exposed to O₂ to reestablish the proper metal-oxygen coordination. Much like O₂, hydrogen peroxide may be used to oxidize the surface of metal oxide nanopowders, such as titania (TiO₂), as well as drive off impurities remaining and or derived from the synthesis of these materials, to establish a more pristine surface. Various commercially available nanosized rutile and anatase structured titania nanopowders are treated with hydrogen peroxide and any changes in crystallinity are monitored using a confocal Raman microscope as well as powder X-ray Diffraction. In situ DRIFTS coupled with a high temperature reaction chamber is used to assess any changes in the substrate upon treatment, including evolving water and hydroxyl features on the surface and the disappearance of impurities, both as the pretreatment conditions change and as a function of substrate temperature.