Short communicationEffect of ethylene glycol concentration on the morphology and catalytic properties of TiO2 nanotubes

- The higher EG concentration (> 70%) was beneficial for the formation of TiO2 nanotubes.
- Both the nanoporous and the nanotubular anatase TiO2 showed high photocatalytic reactivity.
- The formation of TiO2 nanotubes significantly improves the photocatalytic properties.
- The photodegradation of RhB over TiO2 NTbs reveals a diffusion control reaction mechanism.

Effect of ethylene glycol (EG) concentration on the micromorphology and photocatalytic property of TiO2 nanotubes was investigated. When EG concentration is varied from 10% to 90%, Ti foil was first oxidized to form a multiporous structure, and the nanotube structure was observed at EG concentration of 70%. Increasing the EG concentration further resulted in more regular and longer TiO2 nanotube arrays with smaller diameters. The photocatalysis experiments showed that the nanotube structure was beneficial for the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B; however, TiO2 nanotubes with smaller diameters displayed decreased catalytic activity.

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