Photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide produced by high-energy milling

In this work, photocatalysts based on titanium dioxide were synthesized by high-energy ball milling of commercial titanium dioxide in the anatase modification. Using a complex of physicochemical methods, including XRD, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, XPS and TEM, it was shown that the milling of commercial anatase leads to phase transformations and the formation of several phases of titanium dioxide, namely the high-pressure phase, the monoclinic phase of anatase and rutile, except for in addition, there is a change in the crystalline size and the value of the specific surface area grows from 8 to 31 m$^2$/g. It was found that defects are introduced into the system during ball milling. The photocatalysts obtained by milling showed an activity comparable to the commercial standard TiO$_2$ Degussa P25 in the destruction of the methylene blue dye under the action of UV light, while the adsorption properties of the synthesized samples exceeded those of commercial P25.