Low-temperature synthesis of peptized TiO2 hydrosols with tunable surface charges for enhanced photocatalytic activity

Peptized titania sols offer numerous advantages, including uniform distribution, small particle size, good dis-persibility in aqueous solutions, and strong interfacial adsorption capabilities. In this study, a novel insight into the systematic analysis of key parameters influencing the characteristics of peptized titania sols synthesized from the hydrolysis-peptization of titanium iso-propoxide (TIP) is presented. The article focuses on electrostatic sta-bilization, surface area dependent on various modifying conditions including H+/Ti molar ratio, solvent, pH, particle size distribution, peptizing temperature and ageing. The study also establishes the mobility of charges, facilitating charge accumulation on particle surfaces under different conditions. This resulting in enhancing electrostatic potential development in the solution, as indicated by the zeta potential value. Furthermore, the synthesized sols were used to investigate its photocatalytic performance by Methyl Violet and Rhodamine 6G organic dye degradation and other characterizations were performed to validate its properties.