New approach to obtaining nanosized pseudobrookite crystals

摘要

Nanocomposites on the basis of TiO _2 and Fe _3O _4 oxides are of interest as photocatalysts, materials for spintronics, sensorics, etc. In the present paper, a new approach is considered for obtaining pseudobrookite crystallites based on sol-gel transformations and interactions of components of a multiphase colloid system, making it possible to obtain hydroxylated crystallites of the material which are structurally identical to pseudobrookite at close to room temperatures without an annealing stage. Structural changes occurring at interactions of TiO _2 and Fe _3O _4 nanoparticles during the synthesis are investigated by the method of dynamical light scattering. A comparison of the spectral characteristics of the nanocomposite, titania(anatase), and magnetite in visible and UV spectral ranges showed a significant shift in the nanocomposite absorption band to the visible range when compared to pure components.