Trinuclear Oxo-Titanium Clusters: Synthesis, Structure, and Photocatalytic Activity

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Environmental Chemistry

Background:

• Titanium (IV) oxo-complexes (TOCs) show potential for photodegradation of pollutants.
• Developing novel TOCs with tunable properties is crucial for environmental remediation.

Purpose of the Study:

• Synthesize and characterize novel titanium (IV) oxo-complexes.
• Investigate the effect of carboxylate ligands on optical properties.
• Evaluate the photocatalytic activity of TOCs in polymer composites.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis and structural characterization of four TOCs.
• UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis-DRS) for optical band gap measurement.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations.
• Fabrication of polymer/TOCs composites using PMMA.
• Photocatalytic degradation studies using methylene blue (MB) under UV irradiation.

Main Results:

• Four TOCs with the general formula [Ti3O(O^iPr)8(OOCR')2] were successfully synthesized.
• Varying carboxylate ligands modulated the optical band gaps of the TOC microcrystals.
• PMMA-TOC composites were formed, with PMMA-TOC(1) exhibiting the highest photocatalytic activity for MB degradation, followed by PMMA-TOC(3).

Conclusions:

• The synthesized TOCs and their PMMA composites are effective for photocatalytic applications.
• The choice of carboxylate ligand significantly influences the photocatalytic performance.
• PMMA-TOC(1) demonstrates superior efficiency in degrading methylene blue, highlighting its potential for environmental cleanup.