Formation of crystallized titania nanotubes and their transformation into nanowires

Gram quantities of titania (TiO₂) nanotubes, with a typical outside diameter about 9 nm, wall thickness of about 2.5 nm, and length of about 600 nm, were synthesized from anatase nanopowder and micropowder using the hydrothermal method. The crystallization, structure, and phase stability of the nanotubes at high temperatures were studied. A morphology change from nanotube to nanowire was observed at 650 °C. The as-prepared nanotubes were usually contaminated with sodium impurities and were poorly crystallized, but under optimized synthesis conditions the impurity phase was completely removed, resulting in highly crystallized nanotubes. The volume filling fraction of the autoclave as well as the concentration of the acid treatment were found to be particularly important for controlling the purity and crystallinity of the resulting nanotubes. The various TiO₂-derived nanotube phases (sodium titanate and hydrogen titanate) reported previously by different groups were also observed under different synthesis conditions, resolving the contradiction among the previous results.