Nanosized titania and silica-supported titania (SST) were prepared by the sol–gel method using titanium tetrachloride as a titania precursor. An opposite behavior was observed in the lattice strain of titania and SST before and after transition onset point (TOP). The effect of the changes of the lattice strain on the size of nanocrystallites, the TOP, and activation energy of phase transformation from anatase to rutile is investigated. It is shown that under identical synthesis conditions, the average size of nanocrystallites in SST was less than that of pure titania. Moreover, TOP of titania was lower in pure titania sample than that of SST due to the tensile strain of pure titania vs. the compressive strain of SST at low calcination temperature. However, the activation energy of pure titania due to the compressive strain and the exponential leap of the tensile strain of SST, after TOP, was higher than that of SST.
