Spontaneous phase and morphology transformations of anodized titania nanotubes induced by water at room temperature.

Wang, Daoai; Liu, Lifeng; Zhang, Fuxiang; Tao, Kun; Pippel, Eckhard; Domen, Kazunari · Nano Lett · 2011

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

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 TiO(2) nanomaterials have a markedly improved surface area, about 5.5 times than that of the as-anodized TiO(2) nanotubes, resulting in a pronounced enhanced photocatalytic activity. The present approach not only allows a flexible control over the morphology of TiO(2) nanostructures but can fundamentally eliminate the need for high temperature operations for crystallizing amorphous TiO(2).