Patent ID: 7326399

Claim:
A method of manufacturing titanium dioxide nanoparticles of controlled particle size, comprising: (i) reacting an inorganic titanium compound with water to form an aqueous titanium solution that is substantially free of a monofunctional alcohol; (ii) adding an amount of a dispersing agent to the aqueous titanium solution to form a precursor solution, wherein the dispersing agent comprises a plurality of organic molecules that have at least one functional group capable of binding to the titanium in the aqueous solution; and (iii) forming a plurality of titanium dioxide nanoparticles by holding the precursor solution at one or more temperatures until the nanoparticles form out of the precursor solution in the presence of the dispersing agent, wherein the dispersing agent is included in an amount so as to form the titanium dioxide nanoparticles with a controlled particle size, wherein the titanium dioxide nanoparticles are formed in the presence of the dispersing agent.