Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 September 2012
Nanosized powders exhibit high specific surface areas resulting in enhanced reactivities. Surface tailoring by controlled adsorption of molecules can thus be conveniently performed and more easily monitored by surface-sensitive techniques. In situ and ex situ grafting procedures of hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) on nanosized titania (n-TiO2) powder were carried out and studied by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR). In addition to a decrease of the hydrophilic OH groups, the vibration analysis revealed hydrophobic CH3 groups on the grafted samples. Co-adsorption of CO and H2O on the differently grafted samples showed a large reduction of water effect compared to the as-received n-TiO2 powder. Modulation of infrared transmitted energy by controlled adsorption of O2 and CO made it possible to qualitatively compare the electronic properties of the surface-tailored samples.