Structure and Optical Properties of Nanocrystalline Titanium Dioxide Prepared via Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquid

Crystal structure and optical properties of titanium dioxide prepared via pulsed laser ablation of metallic Ti in water were investigated. The ultrafine powder obtained after drying the ablated dispersion consisted of dark blue nanocrystalline TiO
₂
containing anatase and rutile phases with an average particle size of 5-10 nm. This material exhibited an intense additional absorption in the visible region, which is associated with the presence of a large number of defect states, namely different types of oxygen vacancies. The effect of heat treatment on the structural and optical properties of TiO
₂
was studied.