Spontaneous Phase and Morphology Transformations of Anodized Titania Nanotubes Induced by Water at Room Temperature

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 11; no. 9; pp. 3649 - 3655
• Main Authors: Wang, Daoai, Liu, Lifeng, Zhang, Fuxiang, Tao, Kun, Pippel, Eckhard, Domen, Kazunari
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 14.09.2011
• Subjects: Anatase; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Crystallization; Equations of state, phase equilibria, and phase transitions; Exact sciences and technology; Low-dimensional structures (superlattices, quantum well structures, multilayers): structure, and nonelectronic properties; Materials science; Morphology; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Nanostructure; Nanotubes; Nanowires; Phase transformations; Physics; Quantum wires; Specific phase transitions; Spontaneous; Structural transitions in nanoscale materials; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Titanium dioxide; mesoporous structures; TiO2 nanotubes; photocatalyst; phase transformation; Anatase; Phase transformations; Porous materials; Photocatalysis; Nanotubes; Nanostructures; Mesoporosity; Morphology; Nanowires; Surface area; Titanium oxide; Catalyst activity; Nanostructured materials
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl2015262

We report a spontaneous phase transformation of titania nanotubes induced by water at room temperature, which enables the as-anodized amorphous nanotubes to be crystallized into anatase mesoporous nanowires without any other post-treatments. These mesoporous TiO2 nanomaterials have a markedly improved surface area, about 5.5 times than that of the as-anodized TiO2 nanotubes, resulting in a pronounced enhanced photocatalytic activity. The present approach not only allows a flexible control over the morphology of TiO2 nanostructures but can fundamentally eliminate the need for high temperature operations for crystallizing amorphous TiO2.