Probing the Phase Transition in Nanocrystalline TiO₂ Powders by Positron Lifetime (PAL) Technique

Positron annihilation techniques (PAT) have recently been successfully employed for the characterization of phase transitions in metals and compounds. In the present study, positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) measurements have been carried out on a nanocrystalline titania (TiO2) in the form of powders that had been heat-treated at temperatures ranging from 300 to 1273K. The PAL spectra were analyzed into two lifetime components. The shorter lifetime τ1 (185-300 ps) is attributed to positron annihilation in vacancies and the longer lifetime τ1 (400-580 ps) to positrons in microviods at interfaces. The rutile phase of TiO2 powders was utilized as a reference in order to compare their behavior with the commercially supplied and widely available anatase phase (Degussa P25). The influence of the heat-treatment upon the nanostructure during the transition of the anatase to rutile phase were also investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), TEM and BET surface area methods. Understanding of this effect is expected to enhance our knowledge of the morphology and nanocrystallite size of TiO2 powders and their T-dependence, and hence their physical properties.