Synthesis of a stable aqueous TiO2-Chitosan sol prepared without stabilizing alcohol

In recent years, TiO2 has been widely studied for its potential perfomances in many scientific and technological fields, such as water and air purification, sterilization/disinfection and solar cells, for its excellent properties as photocatalyst. In textile applications, TiO2 is used as finishing agent to impart UVabsorbtion, antimicrobial and self cleaning effects. The deposition of TiO2 thin films can be realized by the application of stable titania sol that is usually obtained using alcohol, acetylacetone or a mixture alcoholwater. Nevertheless, the use of these solvents can give some problem for the storage, application and health. The aim of this study is to investigate the preparation of stable aqueous titania sols without the addition of alcohols, glycol or acetylacetone, at good pH values for the industrial applications. The influence of TiO2 concentration, acetate buffer as well as stabilizer additive (i.e. chitosan) was investigated.