Abstract
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has emerged as a promising material for water treatment due to 10 its excellent photocatalytic properties, high stability, and low toxicity. TiO2-based materials hold 11 great potential for addressing water pollution challenges and ensuring access to clean and safe 12 drinking water. Sol-gel assisted hydrothermal method was employed to synthesize TiO2. X-ray dif-13 fraction (XRD) structural investigation revealed lattice fringes in the crystalline phase of both rutile 14 and anatase. UV-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis) findings indicate an optical absorption bandgap of 15 2.99 eV. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) image reveals the development of a tightly packed 16 cluster formed of nanorod aggregated nanoparticles of varying diameters. The High-Resolution 17 Transition Electron Microscope (HRTEM) displays particle size distributions ranging from 30 to 90 18 nm. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) spectrum assessment proves that TiO2 with high 19 purity was synthesized. Nitrogen adsorption and desorption isotherms follow the typical Type IV 20 isotherms found in mesoporous materials, with diameters ranging from 2.1 nm to 86.3 nm. 21 Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area was found to be 84.7537 m²/g. Analysis of river surface 22 water from Ezinambeni in South Africa's Mpumalanga region revealed that synthesized TiO2 had 23 significant photocatalytic activities when exposed to visible light irradiation. 24