BrookiteTiO2,thelatestTiO2photocatalyst,promisestobeaninterestingcandidateforphotocatalyticapplicationsbecauseofitsuniquephysicalandchemicalproperties.Inthisstudy,pure-phasebrookiteTiO2withaquasi-sphericalnanostructurewassuccessfullysynthesizedviaasolvothermalmethodusingtetrabutyltitanate(Ti(OC4H9)4,TBOT)astheTisourceinthepresenceofoxalicacid.NaOHwasusedtoregulatethepHofsolution.Thestructureandmorphologyofthesampleswerethenanalyzedusingmultiplemethods,suchasX-raydiffraction(XRD),Ramanspectroscopy,scanningelectronmicroscopy(SEM),transmissionelectronmicroscopy(TEM),Brunauer–Emmett–Teller(BET)measurementsandultraviolet–visiblediffusespectroscopy(UV–Vis).Photocatalyticactivitiesoftheas-synthesizedbrookiteTiO2wereevaluatedbydegradingaqueousmethylenebluesolutionunderUVlightirradiation.Theeffectofthermaltreatmenttemperatureonphotocatalyticactivityofthesampleswasalsoinvestigated.TheproducedbrookiteTiO2nanopowderscalcinedat500°Cfor2hshowedthehighestphotocatalyticactivity,andthecorrespondingdegradationrateofmethyleneblue(10mg/L)reached96.7%after90minofillumination.Inaddition,theformationmechanismofpure-phasebrookiteTiO2wasinvestigated.Itwasfoundthattheformationofpure-phasebrookiteTiO2inthisstudywasascribedtothecombinedactionofoxalicacidandsodiumhydroxide.
