DSC investigation of nanocrystalline TiO₂ powder

The aim of the article is to investigate the influence of particle size on titanium dioxide phase transformations. Nanocrystalline titanium dioxide powder was obtained through a hydrothermal procedure in an aqueous media at high pressure (in the range 25-100 atm) and low temperature (<= 200 degrees C). The as-prepared samples were characterized with respect to their composition by ICP (inductive coupled plasma), structure and morphology by XRD (X-ray diffraction), and TEM (transmission electron microscopy), thermal behavior by TG (thermogravimetry) coupled with DSC (differential scanning calorimetry). Thermal behavior of nanostructured TiO2 was compared with three commercial TiO2 samples. The sequence of brookite-anatase-rutile phase transformation in TiO2 samples was investigated. The heat capacity of anatase and rutile in a large temperature range are reported.