Title: Investigating the structural and energy band attributes of titanium dioxide with subtle changes in precursor concentration for potential memristor applications

Authors: Shilpa Shivaram; S.K. Suresh Babu; Done Rinshun Paul; D. Nirmal; B. Vigneshwaran

Addresses: Centre for Nanoscience and Genomics, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, India ' Centre for Nanoscience and Genomics, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, India ' Centre for Nanoscience and Genomics, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, India ' Division of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, India ' Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India

Abstract: This paper investigates the structural, morphological, size and energy band variations in titanium dioxide (TiO₂) synthesised by solvothermal method. The precursor concentrations were varied within a small range (0.09 M to 0.15 M) to assess changes in its structural and energy band characteristics minutely. The crystallite size obtained from XRD was found to decrease from 14 nm to 10 nm with an increase in precursor concentration. Spherical morphology with a reduction in particle size was observed using SEM and particle size analysis. From the UV-Visible absorption studies conducted, the bandgap reduction of 3.12 eV (direct bandgap) and 2.95 eV (indirect bandgap) were observed. Photoluminescence studies conducted confirmed the energy band attributes of TiO₂ with probable indication of defects. The ability of the material to decrease its bandgap, crystallite and particle size and modify its energy band properties while displaying structural defects makes it an excellent choice for memristors.

Keywords: TiO₂; band gap; sphere morphology; precursor concentration; memristor.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMATEI.2025.149441

International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation, 2025 Vol.16 No.4, pp.276 - 294

Received: 14 Nov 2023
Accepted: 19 Feb 2024
Published online: 31 Oct 2025 *

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