Nucleation and Growth of Titania Nanoparticles Prepared by Pulsed Injection Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition from a Single Molecular Precursor

Nanometer‐sized titania particles were deposited by the pulsed liquid injection chemical vapor deposition technique from a single molecular metal‐organic precursor. A liquid solution of titanium (IV) isopropoxide was used, Ar was the carrier gas, and titania nanoparticles were deposited on the hot wall of the reactor fused quartz tube, under supersaturated conditions. Energy‐dispersive spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy studies reveal the formation of amorphous titania‐agglomerated nanoparticles (40–50 nm). XRD patterns after different post‐annealing processes reveal a high anatase–rutile transformation temperature, comparable to that of micrometer‐sized titania, attributed to lattice strains in the nanoparticle structure, as calculated from the X‐ray data. The growth dynamics involved in the nucleation and formation of titania nanoparticles is discussed in terms of the so‐called chemical vapor synthesis or chemical vapor condensation.